


The Danger of Safety

by baetrixv



Category: The School for Good and Evil - Soman Chainani
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Friendship, Romance, Slow Burn, a lot of my headcanons were written into it sorry, reversed AU, sorta i hope you like it, this is me trying to write a high school au without all the cliches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2020-01-23 14:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 35,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18551509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baetrixv/pseuds/baetrixv
Summary: Basically, a High School AU but everyone has a personality opposite of canon. Drama ensues...but mostly dumb shenanigans typical of a 00s high school movie





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, you guys are probably not even interested in the story anymore....but I'm modifying and reposting this story....so that way it'll be better quality. I made some changes that may or may not affect some plot aspects, but is still the same concept? so yeah
> 
> If you've never read this before, basically, all your favorite SGE characters have a "reversed" or opposite personality to what they're like in canon...and is a modern high school au so,
> 
> let's do this!

The sun shone dimly over the homely town of Gavaldon, even at the early hour of six in the morning, anyone would be able to tell it was going to be a bright, sunny day.

It was the perfect day to hit the local pool with your friends. But at the same time, it wasn’t. For today marked the beginning of the school year at Samuel Grant Edwards High School, and that means the end of summer, much to the disgrace of about two thousand students.

But one of them didn’t mind. As he neatly combs his hair, adjusts his button up shirt, and fixes his glasses, Tedros decides he is ready for the first day of junior year.

The first day of being an upperclassmen means a lot to him. But dread isn’t one of them. Unlike many students, Tedros _likes_ school. That doesn’t mean he likes the stress and lack of sleep that comes along with high school, but he does like learning.

Of course, this thoughts are never voiced, for that would mean a lot of mocking from his peers, maybe even his friends.

As Tedros goes down the stairs, with his messenger back strapped across his shoulder, he can smell the coffee coming from his kitchen.

His dad, Arthur, sits at the dining table, calmly sipping his coffee while looking at his phone. A lot of people say Tedros looks like a younger version of his dad. He agrees with them, but the only difference between them are Tedros’ glasses.

“Morning, son.” Arthur says, looking up.

“Morning, dad.” Tedros replied, sipping coffee onto a cup. He rarely has breakfast, since he never wakes up hungry. He goes through the fridge, and sighs.

“Did we run out of creamer?” Tedros asked. Arthur let out a small ‘oh’.

“Yeah, I forgot to get some last night after work. Sorry about that.” Arthur apologized. Tedros drank the bitter liquid from his cup, a decision he quickly regretted.

“Alright, are we ready for the first day of junior year?” Arthur asked. Tedros gave a small smile.

“As ready as I can be.” The two head out of their home. There is only one car at their house, so Tedros drives to school, and then Arthur uses the same car to go to work. It has worked out for them in the past months.

“Junior year was my favorite year of high school, you know? It was very fun, even though it was stressful, but I have the best memories from that year. I can only hope you can say the same.” Arthur told as Tedros drove down the small streets.

“I sure hope so. I have a lot on my plate this year: PSAT, SAT, the need to start thinking about colleges, 3 AP classes…it’s a lot of work, but I’m sure I’ll make some good memories.” Tedros replied, keeping his eyes glued to the road. Gavaldon’s narrow roads made driving a little harder than it should.

“And there’s also Prom. That was a big deal for my friends and me when we were your age.” Arthur said. Tedros tensed up at the mention of the dance.

“Yeah…that should be fun.” Tedros replied lamely. Prom means dates. It means asking a girl. That is too much anxiety for 6:58 in the morning.

“You don’t sound too excited about it.” Arthur teased. Tedros sighed.

“It’s just…you know social events are not my forte.” Tedros explained.

“But, you seem to have conquered Homecoming these past years, what’s so scary about Prom?

 _Hmm, I don’t know, trying to ask your crush after years of liking her and facing rejection? I don’t know, maybe that’s just me._ Tedros thought sarcastically, but remained quiet.

“The date part…I’ve never asked anyone to…any dance, or anything, really.” Tedros said. Arthur chuckled.

“You will be fine. Look, you must be wondering why I’m talking about Prom, but the thing is, I would like for you to…be involved in these type of school events. I’m extremely proud of your academic achievements, but I do think it wouldn’t hurt you to…loosen up sometimes.” Tedros drove to a red stop light and faced Arthur.

“But I do loosen up! I see my friends over the weekend all the time.” Tedros defended himself.

“I know you do, and I’m glad. But, you know, you can go to more school events that involve socializing. By the time you’ll be my age, you’ll remember those fondly.” Arthur advised. Tedros sighed.

He didn’t really understand why his dad was bringing this up so suddenly, especially on the first day of school.

“I see your point, and I will _at least_ go to Prom.” Tedros said, “Even if it means facing my fears…”

“See, that’s the attitude! You only have this year and next year as a teen. Afterwards, it’s the real world. Enjoy this! Take some risks, as long as they don’t hurt you. And they need to be legal.” Arthur said, as Tedros pulled up to the driveway of his school.

“Dad, why would I do something illegal?” Tedros asked. Arthur shrugged.

“It’s always good to remind you.”

They both got out of the car, while Tedros waved goodbye as he walked away, Arthur waved at him from the driver’s seat.

Tedros decided to not think too much about his father’s words, and instead, saw as a group of sophomore girls hugging by the stairs, while the senior jocks patted each other on the back excitedly.

He just needs to find his little niche.

But his niche found him first. 

“Hey! Where are you going?!” A voice called to him. Tedros turned around and smiled.

Beatrix Jolie quickly made her way to where he was and swiftly hugged him, almost knocking him to the ground. Not only she was strong, but she was pretty tall.

“Bea, easy on the strength.” Tedros chuckled.

“Sorry, I’m just excited! After a whole year of crappy classes by myself, I finally have some classes with the people I like. That’s a reason to be excited.  I barely managed to finish _Jane Eyre_ in time! It was a good book though, at least AP Language has some good novels to offer.” Beatrix excitedly chattered.

“Eh, Gothic novels were never my thing. I thought it was alright.” Tedros commented. Beatrix started at him.

“You thought _A Farewell To Arms_ was good. That’s what we call hypocrisy.” Beatrix retorted. As the two stood by the lockers in the hallways, Beatrix’s and Tedros’ phones went off.

 _Meet me by the parking lot_.

“Do we need to though?” Tedros joked. Beatrix smiled.

“Aw come on! I want to see what this is about.” Beatrix took Tedros’ arms and dragged him to the parking lot.

The parking lot was at the back of the main building. It was full of rich juniors and seniors, many who were talking about their vacation to Europe, or their brand new car. Then there were the kids that just hung out here to escape the noisy halls.

But Tedros and Beatrix couldn’t really criticize the rich kids, because their own friend is like that.

“Where are we su— oh there he is!” Tedros pointed at a silver Lexus parked by a tree.

They walked over there, and found themselves with a tall, lean boy with light colored hair. They just stared at the boy’s car.

“Did you…?” Tedros asked.

“Yep.” Their friend happened to be Rafal Blackburn. Class President for two years in a row, and fellow overachiever. Oh, and also, the rich friend.

“I didn’t even ask for it. I call it ‘making up for absences with money’.” Rafal said sarcastically.

“Dang, rich people…” Beatrix dumbly said. Rafal laughed.

“Anyway...I can’t believe it’s already the first day of school. I’m not ready to start my days with Lesso’s Pre-Calculus class. They really screwed me over this time.” Rafal complained.

“Ha! You see, that’s what happens when you’re a nerd.” Their friend, Hort, suddenly said, draping his arms around Rafal and Beatrix. Rafal rolled his eyes, while Beatrix turned to embrace him.

“It’s okay, we’re very proud of you taking three Honors courses.” Beatrix giggled. Hort wasn’t known for spectacular grades. He tried, really, but academics weren’t really his thing. He somehow managed to get into higher level courses this year. This surprised everyone, including himself.

“Hey, you know it’s a big achievement for me. Are those new glasses?” Hort asked Beatrix. She fixed her lilac, cat-eye frames and nodded.

“You are very lucky; you don’t need to wear glasses.” Rafal said. They all nodded in agreement.

 “I’m still confused as to why you hang out with us.” Tedros joked. Hort shrugged.

“Well, I elevate your social ranking. I could also help you get a girl, or guy in Bea’s case.” Hort teased.

“Right…”Beatrix narrowed his eyes. Hort cracked up.

While they all merrily laughed and talked about their summer adventures and their schedules, the roar of a motorcycle was heard. They all turned to see where it was coming from.

“Uh oh. There’s only someone that rides a motorcycle to school.” Hort observed.

As a matter of fact, the rider of the motorcycle stopped in front of them. The figure took off the helmet they were wearing, revealing long blonde hair and a pair of angry, emerald green eyes.

If there was a rule at school, it was to not mess with Sophie Jones.

“You’re in my spot.” She gruffly demanded. Rafal raised his eyebrows, looked down at the pavement, and retorted:

“I don’t see your name on it.” This only made the blonde angrier.

“You know what I mean.”

“Well, it seems you don’t understand how parking works.” Rafal calmly replied, holding her tantalizing gaze. Her gaze held feelings of pure hatred, but Rafal’s eyes were unreadable.

She angrily veered and left them staring, either in confusion or anger.

“ _What_ is her deal?” Rafal loudly complained. Out of the four, Rafal hated Sophie the most. It was mostly attributed to her…disruptive nature, which contrasted to his straitlaced nature.

“Who knows? She is quite the character.” Hort shrugged.

“As much as I would love to discuss Sophie Jones’ attitude, we need to head to class. We only have four minutes before the bell rings.” Beatrix announced, putting her phone back in her jeans’ pocket.

“Crap! I have class in the second floor. I need to run!” Hort sprinted, not wanting to be late on the first day of class.

“I guess we should do the same.” Rafal sighed, “I can already regret taking Pre-Calc.”

They swiftly walked over to class, trying to avoid the most crowded places. Even though Beatrix and Rafal were talking, Tedros zoned out, his dad’s words resonating in his head. He _did_ play it safe for most of the time…

Maybe he should listen to his dad. Sometimes risks are worth it.

 

 

 


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to filipofmounthonora on tumblr for editing!

_ Tedros _

* * *

 

Thankfully, the weekend was soon upon everyone. Even though school had only started three days ago, the teachers assigned  _ tons _ of homework, almost all of it due Monday.

At the moment, Tedros sat on his desk, struggling through the 30 page reading for AP US History. He had never been a fan of American history, and those pages made focusing nearly impossible. Sader had really outdone herself this time.

_ This has to be the worst thing I’ve ever read… _

He leaned against his chair, taking off his glasses in the process. It was a beautiful day out: there were barely any clouds in sight, and the sun shone brightly. The usual calm was upon his neighborhood.

Yet here he was, stuck reading about…he couldn’t even tell what he was reading.

As he readied himself to go back to his assignment, his phone buzzed. He quickly checked it.

_ ‘would anyone be willing to hit the new milkshake place @ downtown??’ _

Tedros smiled to himself. God bless Hort for always having an excuse to see everyone. Tedros typed a reply:

_ ‘When?’ _

_ ‘today in the afternoon??’ _

_ ‘Im down,’  _ Beatrix replied. If anyone texted Tedros, it usually came from their little group chat with all four of them.

_ ‘What time, exactly?’  _ Rafal texted.

Tedros waited for a response from Hort.

‘ _ would 4 work? _ ’

They eventually all agreed. Hort said he’d find the address and text it to them.

Tedros made his way out of his bedroom and headed downstairs. He found his dad in the kitchen, trying to make lunch. Tedros decided to ignore the smoke coming from the pan, hoping it wasn’t something too bad. Arthur still had some mishaps in the kitchen from time to time. Tedros appreciated the efforts, as long as it didn’t start up the fire alarm.

“Dad, is it okay if I go out today at four?” Tedros asked.

Arthur turned around and faced him. “Sure, where are you going?”

“Hort asked if we could meet at some milkshake place at downtown. He’ll send the address later.”

“Sounds good, just don’t come home too late. Oh, and you can take the car: I don’t think I’ll be going out today. Just drive safely.”

Tedros grinned. “I always do.”

“Always a good thing to say…” Arthur mumbled to himself.

* * *

 

By 4:05, Tedros was making his way into the little place, the door sounding a little chime as he entered. It had a certain vintage charm to it, looking like the typical 50’s diner: black-and-white tiled floors, a bar with bright red seats, even the waitresses were dressed up in era-inspired dresses.

Tedros saw Hort waving at him from a booth. Beatrix was sitting opposite of him, but she turned around and waved at Tedros. He walked over them and sat next to Hort.

“Hey, glad you made it,” Hort said, grinning.

“How did you find this place?” Tedros inquired curiously. Gavaldon’s downtown was full of little restaurants like this one, but Hort rarely came to this part of town.

“Oh, you know Hester Ravenswood? She was talking about getting a job somewhere, and Anadil Bakshi proposed this place. Hester didn’t sound too excited about the prospect of working here…” Hort explained.

“Well, she does seem pretty…um, pretentious, for lack of a better word,” Beatrix said. Hester was the Captain of the Varsity Cheerleading squad. She had a reputation of avoiding any dirty jobs. She and Beatrix were like polar opposites.

The chimes rang pleasantly as Rafal stepped through the door. He immediately spotted his friends sitting at the corner and headed over to them.

“Hey,” he greeted. “Sorry I’m late. My dad just came back from Europe, and I actually  _ needed _ to tell him where I was going. He also wanted to talk to me and stuff.” He rolled his eyes.

“Well, at least he’s here again,” Beatrix expressed positively.

“Yeah, although I’m getting used to being on my own…” Rafal said. His dad was pretty high up the ladder in his company, and he frequently traveled out of the country, leaving Rafal on his own. It was a strange arrangement for a seventeen-year-old, but Rafal was used to it. He thought the independence was good for him.

“Anyway—do you know if this place is any good?” Beatrix asked Hort. He shrugged.

“If not, we can blame Hester and Anadil,” Hort said.

Rafal raised his eyebrows. “Why would we do that?” he questioned, confusion showing on his features.

“We’ll fill you in later,” Beatrix said. Rafal shrugged.

A waitress promptly showed up to their table. She had copper-colored skin adorned with colorful makeup, while her dark black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She held a little notepad in one hand, and a pen in the other.

The sitting foursome eyed her for a second.

“Hester? You  _ work _ here?” Hort asked in disbelief.

“Yeah,” she replied, then sighed. “Unfortunately...” She rolled her eyes. “Do you guys know what you want?” They all looked at each other and shook their heads.

“Alrighty then, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” She swiftly left them alone.

“I thought she wouldn’t take the job…” Hort muttered, looking at his menu.

“I hope she didn’t hear me say she was pretentious,” Beatrix murmured back.

Tedros shook his head. “She probably didn’t.”

After looking at their menus, the friends decided on their orders—Hester returning to scribble furiously on her notepad.

“I’ll put those in,” she said, but before she could leave, Hort asked:

“So, what made you take this job?”

“I need money,  _ duh _ . But they hired me half-time, three days a week—so that should be a schedule flexible enough for Cheer practice,” she briefly explained. “Do you think you’ll be doing track this year?”

“Yeah, I always do.” Hort smiled crookedly at her. Hester grinned back.

“That was a dumb question. It would be like asking me if I’m doing cheer. I was just wondering, anyway. Well, gotta go.” Hester quickly left and headed towards the kitchen.

“How do you even know Hester so well?” Rafal asked him.

“Ravan. That’s all you need to know.” Hort grinned. Ravan Maharaj was another of the popular kids. He used to be friends with Hort, but somehow they stopped hanging out. He still invited Hort to some of his parties, though.

“Right, you ditch us sometimes to hang out with Ravan,” Rafal teased. Hort rolled his eyes.

“I literally do it less than once a month. Chillax.” Hort rolled his eyes, but Rafal sniggered.

“Tedros, are you with us?” Beatrix asked, suddenly changing the subject. Tedros snapped from his trance, realizing he hadn’t really been paying attention.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said distractedly. His three friends shared a glance.

“Is it me, or have you been more distracted lately? Is something up?” Beatrix queried, scrunching up her nose. Tedros sighed.

Ever since Wednesday, his dad’s words about taking risks had stayed in his mind. He knew it was silly, but he couldn’t help but feel like his dad had a valid point. Even during the most random moments he could feel the words lingering on the back of his head. He felt as if he should act on those words.

“It’s something dumb,” Tedros dismissed.

“If you’re this spacey, it’s clearly _ not _ dumb,” Rafal insisted. Tedros sighed again.

“Alright, I’ll tell you.” He felt his friends hunching over to listen. “My dad simply gave me a little spill about how I should…technically do more stuff—I mean, socially. Maybe take more risks, and ever since Wednesday, his words have been stuck in my head.”

His friends remained silent, unclear as to what to say next.

“I mean, it never hurts you to leave your comfort zone. But I don’t know how to do that…” Beatrix broke the silence.

“'Don’t you feel we should…I don’t know... stop playing it safe?” Tedros asked them. They all stared at him.

“Regarding what?” Beatrix inquired.

“High school,” Tedros said.

Beatrix and Rafal shared an uneasy look.

“My dad talked about me going to more social events, but the more I thought of it, I came to a conclusion: we might play it too safe. What if we dared to do something different?” Tedros asked, earning more fidgeting from them.

“Look, I’m sorry if this is heavy, I really am,”  he continued cautiously. “But maybe we should all do something…not so safe, maybe?”

“So like, all of us pledge to do something we’ve never done?” Hort questioned, his black eyes twinkling with curiosity.

“Maybe, I don’t know... these are just thoughts I’ve had. I just don’t want to look back and regret not having done certain stuff.”

“Oh, I know what you should do,” Hort announced, smirking maliciously. Tedros sighed, knowing what was coming.

“You should ask Aga—‘ Hort started, but Tedros shushed him. Beatrix and Rafal shared a look and held back a laugh.

“Don’t say her name so loudly, especially when Hester is around,” Tedros hissed.

Hort sighed. “You should ask  _ Agatha Sader _ to Prom.”

“Hort’s right. I swear, you’ve been in love with her for way too long.” Beatrix complained, Rafal nodding along. “It’s about time you do something about it.”

“I know! I know. It’s just…intimidating. I really do want to, though,” Tedros confessed.

“Oh, I can put in good word about you with her! She said she’s running for VP this year.” Rafal offered.

Ask Agatha to Prom. Agatha Sader: the girl Tedros had been in love with for…a really long time. Unfortunately, he was too much of a dork to even talk to her. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t  _ try _ ...

“…Alright,” Tedros accepted after a long while. “I’ll do it.”

Rafal grinned, while Hort clapped him on the back.

“And what are you going to do that’s out of your comfort zone?” Beatrix asked, turning to Rafal.

He shrugged. “I’ll figure it out later. No problem.”

Beatrix narrowed her eyes, and smirked evilly. “You should open up to the possibility of actually  _ liking _ someone,” she suggested.

“I don’t  _ do _ crushes,” Rafal objected. “Or any type of romance. I don’t have time for that!”

“I gotta agree with Beatrix,” Hort chided. “Come on dude! A lot of girls have a thing for you, stop being so narrow minded.”

Rafal sighed. “So what do I pledge? I’ll ask a girl to Prom? I’ll ask at least  _ someone _ out?” Rafal mocked.

His friends shared looks amongst themselves.

“No…how about you just, loosen up?” Tedros proposed.

“‘Loosen up’?” Rafal repeated, frowning.

“Well, yeah. I mean, you’re super known and people really like you, but you never get to actually just, um…” Tedros trailed off, searching for the right words.

“You’re always really highly-strung and you don’t always get to enjoy the moment,” Hort cut in. Tedros nodded in agreement.

“That’s not always true,” Rafal defended.

“How about last year when we went sailing on your own boat and you literally started freaking out about your English test grade?” Beatrix recalled.

“It said it had been graded!”

“Or how about the time you showed up late to my birthday hangout because Model UN ran too long?” she continued.

Rafal blushed, embarrassed. “That was out of my control and I apologized many,  _ many _ times.”

“Did you even  _ like _ Model UN?” Hort asked, frowning.

“Am I still in it?” Rafal countered dryly, making Hort snort.

“Look, what is your point?” Rafal sighed. “I’ll go ahead and see if I can try it.”

“Well…” Beatrix began, “I understand school means a lot to you—because it does to me too—but maybe you shouldn’t involve yourself in all these things? I get that you love doing extracurricular stuff, but maybe you should refrain from certain clubs that are just unnecessary stress.  _ That _ kind of loosening up.”

“It makes sense,” Rafal sighed. “I’ll try it, but I’m staying in the Council. I hate it and love it at the same time.”

“Yeah. And if I were you, I’d  _ definitely _ stop thinking of being ‘too busy’ for romance,” Hort chimed. “Maybe just ‘not ready’, because that’s definitely a good reason for refraining from it.”

“Fine, I’ll do that stuff. And I _ am _ ‘not ready’ for love,” Rafal retorted, glaring at a smirking Hort.

“Beatrix also needs to do something,” Tedros observed, amused by the other guys.

“I will, relax. I just don’t know what,” Beatrix admitted.

“Yeah, me neither,” Tedros sympathized. “I don’t really know what you could do to challenge yourself. You and I are kind of in the same socially-awkward bubble.”

Beatrix smiled. “Well, I was thinking... and even though I’m friends with Reena, I’d like to have some  _ more _ girlfriends—you know? Look, you guys are great, and I love every single one of you…but there are some things you don’t get, and it’d be nice to talk them out with  _ other _ girls.”

The others nodded, not really knowing what to say.

“How would you do that, though?” Tedros asked, not meaning to sound discouraging—he was simply curious.

Beatrix fiddled with the hem of her baby blue sweater.

“Um, I was thinking about, maybe starting a book club. I mean, what better way to find friends than through something you love?” Beatrix said.

“Oh you totally should! I actually met Rafal during club fair our freshman year. It worked out pretty well,” Tedros said.

“Yeah…I just wouldn’t know how to…start it. Or manage it,” Beatrix admitted sheepishly.

Rafal put an arm around her. “Beatrix, please. You’re friends with me. I’ve been in so many clubs that I can  _ totally _ help you. I’m like, club  _ extraordinaire _ ,” he said, making everyone explode with laughter.

“You’d really do that?” Beatrix asked him, her eyes sparkling with hope. Tedros could never say no to her when they did that.

“Yeah! Of course. Just tell me what you need and I’ll help. Besides, I have connections. I’m totally your guy,” Rafal assured.

“‘I have connections’—wow Rafal, what are you? A forty year old man that plays golf?” Tedros mocked. Rafal ignored him.

“Well, that just leaves you, Hort,” Beatrix pointed out.

“Yeah, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’m pretty out there socially, and I always set goals for myself every year. Academically, too, even if it doesn’t show,” Hort said.

“Oh come on, you managed to get into Art History. That’s an AP class.” Rafal said.

“Yeah, and I’m already regretting that, but anyways, maybe I can just get a free pass and… _ not  _ do anything?” Hort suggested.

“Weren’t you complaining about how the school pays no attention to arts? What if you did something about that?” Beatrix suggested. “It’s pretty out of your comfort zone to show your talent—even though it makes no sense, because you’re a  _ great _ artist.”

“I mean, that takes a lot of work and people. Not just me. Besides, my art is kind of personal; I can’t stand the thought of certain people from school seeing it,” Hort argued.

Tedros rolled his eyes. “It’s not like you’re drawing nudes or something.”

“Still, it feels strange. Even though August Sader would totally be up for it.” Hort pondered over it silently for a few moments before speaking again. “Maybe I’ll do it. It’d be nice.”

“Yeah, Hort, isn’t this whole thing about leaving your comfort zone?” Rafal reminded him sarcastically.

“ _ Fine _ ,” Hort scoffed. “I’ll see what I do. All of you have such cool stuff and then there’s me…” Hort sighed. Tedros patted him in the back.

“Oh come on, it just means you already take so many risks and…just do stuff. We’re the ones that struggle more I guess,” Tedros said, in his best attempt to be encouraging.

“Huh. I guess so. Eh, I’ll see what I can do to make my junior year…more interesting,” Hort said.

“I feel like I’ll probably regret this.” Beatrix chimed in.

“Look, I know it’s…sudden, to say the least, but, we might get something rewarding out of this experience,” Tedros argued.

“Easy for you to say, you could possibly get the girl of your dreams to be your girlfriend,” Rafal scoffed.

“I wouldn’t go  _ that _ far. I don’t even know if she’d like me enough to even talk to me.”

“She would. Just ask her, dude. Sometimes, you just have to do it without giving it much thought to it,” Hort said.

“I would listen to Hort: he’s the only one of us that has actually gone out on dates recently,” Rafal advised.

“Yeah, and  _ you _ should listen to me too. Some girls have the hots for you, really,” Hort told Rafal. The latter fidgeted.

“I would need to see it to believe it—but alas... And are we seriously doing this? Are we seriously going to try to be more… Dang, I don’t even have a word for it,” Rafal muttered.

“Guys, I don’t want you think you’re forced to do this. I was just explaining how I actually see the logic in my dad’s words. You don’t need to do some pact or bet or whatever you want to call it just because of something I said,” Tedros rambled. His three friends all shared a look.

Hort smiled. “…You know what? I  _ will _ do it. It might be good for me to not be a coward about my art. Let’s be bold.”

“I don’t really know what I’m doing, but making a book club definitely sounds fun. As long as Rafal gets to help me.” Beatrix gave him a grin. Rafal returned it.

“I’ll lay off clubs and unnecessary stuff, but I can make an exception for you, Beatrix.”

“So Tedros, are you gonna do it?” Beatrix asked curiously.

Tedros fidgeted but nodded.

“About time,” Rafal muttered.

“Is this when we say ‘we’re going to make great memories’ or ‘this is going to be the best year ever!’?” Hort joked.

“No, people usually say that when they’re at the beach. Or something. I don’t know, we’re not a teen movie from the 2000’s.” Beatrix grinned.

“Man, it would be really cool if we were,” Hort mused, making all of them laugh just as Hester showed up with their milkshakes. She shot them a puzzled look, but grinned at them.

“I say we toast,” Hort proposed. “To Tedros’s thoughts that gave us these ideas.”

Tedros rolled his eyes. “It could’ve been to a good junior year but good enough.”

“To Tedros!” Beatrix chimed, the others chorusing with huge smiles.

“God, we are  _ really _ lame,” Rafal chuckled quietly.

Tedros snorted at those words. They definitely were, but he couldn’t care less in that instant. He was ready to have a memorable junior year.

Even if he was terrified of asking out Agatha.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey, so yeah...I made a lot of changes to this one, and I guess I should address the fact that I made Agatha be Sader's daughter...yeah that was just because I always thought he was more of a real dad to her, and look, this au is already flipping everything upside down so...why not?


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay new chapter and it only took me a week or so? Thanks again to filipofmounthonora for editing this; you truly help make it better!

After that Sunday, Rafal felt almost…ready? He had been bummed out at first by the fact he had agreed to “loosen up” or whatever, but seeing as he had offered himself to offer Beatrix with her book-club endeavors, he actually felt himself really looking forward to it.

Beatrix had decided to wait a little longer before starting, and Rafal couldn’t be more thankful, because a major event approached. 

Well, at least for Rafal.

The class elections.

It was the event of the year. He wasn’t frazzled or anything, he was just filled with adrenaline. All of his focus shifted from distractions to making sure he won the presidency. It would be an understatement to say he was competitive. His friends knew that  _ all _ too well.

On a breezy, early October morning, as they waited for class to start, he looked for any of his friends, and spotted Tedros and Beatrix by the latter’s locker.

The pair curiously watched while Rafal dropped his campaign posters on the floor, along with a big, light green bag. While he unzipped his bag and looked for something, Beatrix took her chances and lifted one of the posters from the floor—and immediately started laughing.

“‘I don’t always run, but when I do it’s for president’? Where did you even get this? This is  _ straight _ from 2009,” Beatrix snickered, Tedros joining in.

Rafal rolled his eyes, taking the poster back. Even if they laughed, he had worked very hard on designing and printing those.

“Hey, it’s witty, and it fits my persona. I think it's appealing! I’ve seen and heard worse,  _ trust _ me,” Rafal argued, pulling out tape from his bag. “I’m going to go hang these. Beatrix, would you take that bag? It’s full of candy.”

“Candy?” Beatrix questioned, but didn't argue, picking up the bag. “Can Hort give out some of it too? He does have some good contacts, you know.”

Rafal grinned at Beatrix's suggestion. “Great idea! When do you think you’ll see him?” he asked.

“I have second period with him. I can give it to him then,” she proposed. Rafal nodded.

“Where are you hanging those?” Tedros asked, pointing to the posters.

“One by the cafeteria, one by the wall full with all the other posters… but I still have to decide for the last one.” Rafal answered.

“Who else is running for president? I heard Aric is,” Beatrix said.

“Yeah,” Rafal confirmed with a nod. “I’m not super worried about him. I’m just glad he is not running for VP; we don’t really get along well enough.” Rafal remembered all the bickering he went through last year. He didn't like the idea of an encore.

_ All the things I do for this school…, _ he thought to himself.

“I heard Reena is, too,” Tedros added. Rafal nodded again.

“Yeah… and I  _ don’t _ want to lose, but I wouldn’t be  _ too _ upset if I lost to  _ her _ ,” Rafal admitted. “But, hey, I need to go. I’ll see you guys at lunch!”

He waved them goodbye and walked off, heading to his first class. For some odd reason, he felt more nervous this year than ever.

He really hoped everything would turn out fine.

**

When the bell rang, announcing the end of fourth period, Rafal was more than ready: having physics before lunch was not his favorite aspect of his schedule by a long shot.

The only person he ever talked to in that class was Agatha. He always helped her out, because she couldn’t really understand a lot of things.

Unsurprisingly, as he headed out, she tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, I started the homework and I’m stuck on a problem. Do you think you could help me?” she asked him sheepishly, the words all too familiar.

“Yeah, of course. Um, would you mind sitting with me and my friends, though? I feel like that’d be a better use of our time,” Rafal suggested, a plan forming in his head.

“I don’t really care; I just need help,” Agatha replied.

As they made their way to the cafeteria, Rafal smirked to himself. Tedros would have a heart-attack at the sight of her at their table.

“I’m sorry I’ve been pestering you so much,”Agatha apologized, clearly embarrassed. “It’s just the graphing unit: I have  _ not _ been able to wrap my head around it.”

Rafal dismissed it with a wave. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” he assured her.

He made his way to his usual spot at his table, while Agatha simply followed. He noticed Hester shoot Agatha a questioning glance when they passed Agatha's own table, but Agatha raised her textbook and nodded at Rafal. Hester seemed to understand, nodding back.

Rafal dropped his stuff on the table, where Hort already sat. He looked surprised at Agatha’s presence.

“Agatha, I didn’t know you’d be here,” Hort stated dumbly.

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s a pleasure seeing me,” she teased, but sat down and put her textbook on the table, “but I’m here for school help.”

“Oh. I guess that explains it. Nice seeing you here, though.” Hort grinned, and Agatha returned the gesture. She turned to Rafal, opening her book.

“Okay, so I started the homework and I didn’t  _ really _ know what 19 was supposed to be, if it’s a straight line and is in a negative quadrant… what’s it doing?”

He looked at the problem. He knew what the object was doing, but then again, Tedros would too. It wouldn’t hurt for him to be the one to help Agatha instead.

So Rafal did something he'd never usually do: he lied.

“You know, I’m not super sure. I think it might be going backwards, but I really don't know. But you know who probably  _ does _ ? Tedros. This stuff is  _ right _ up his alley; so I say you just wait a few minutes and he’ll probably be more than likely to help.” He noticed Hort giving him a sly glance, as if he knew what he was doing.

“Oh! Well, if you say so. Tedros  _ is _ really smart...” Agatha mused.

“Yeah! And he loves physics too, so he’ll  _ totally _ be down. He helps me, and we’re not even learning the same stuff in my class,” Hort assured, sharing a scheming glance with Rafal.

“Well that sounds good…” Agatha said.

Rafal was about to reply, when he noticed the guy they were discussing walking over to the table with Beatrix. Rafal held back a laugh at Tedros’s expression of surprise when he saw Agatha sitting there.

“Oh, hey…” Tedros said, awkwardly sitting down and trying to act normal.

“Hey, look, I don’t want to take anymore time from you, so I’ll just make this quick: Rafal didn’t really get this either, so he told me you could help me with a problem on my physics homework…would you mind?” Agatha asked. Tedros simply agreed and they got to it.

Rafal and the others simply scooted over a bit and started their own conversation, letting Agatha and Tedros do their own thing.

“So, Rafal,” Beatrix started, shifting Rafal's attention to her. “I know that you’re really busy with all the elections stuff, but I’ve really been thinking about the whole book club thing, and I just need your input.”

“Oh definitely, I don’t mind helping,” Rafal said.

“I was thinking we could meet like every two weeks, on Tuesdays or Thursdays maybe— _ definitely _ after school,” Beatrix said excitedly.

“That sounds pretty good. Do you know who could be your moderator?” Rafal asked.

Beatrix frowned.

“That’s where my problem starts and where I need you. I was thinking it could be an English teacher because you know, books…but Dovey is the only English teacher I like and she’s too busy to even  _ do _ any clubs…so I don’t know who could be the moderator.” She sighed.

“That  _ is _ a problem…is there any teacher you know of that wouldn’t mind doing it?” Rafal suggested.

“Wait, are you guys trying to start a club?” Agatha asked, looking up from her homework. Beatrix nodded and smiled sheepishly.

“Yeah, we just don’t know who could be our moderator,” Rafal stated.

“What’s the club about?” Agatha questioned them, putting her book away.

“It’s just a book club,” Beatrix replied.

“Oh! Should’ve said it earlier: my dad probably wouldn’t mind moderating for you,” Agatha offered.

Beatrix and Rafal shared a look. August Sader was one of their favorite teachers: he was kind, good at teaching, and one of the most laid-back staff-members.

“That’d be great, actually,” Beatrix said.

“Are you sure though? He does do a lot around here,” Rafal worried, but Agatha waved him off.

“I’m pretty sure. He does teach a lot of classes, but he doesn’t have a lot extracurricular stuff going on. You can ask him today. I can meet you by his classroom and ask for you or something,” she offered.

“Yeah, that’d be great!” Beatrix beamed.

Agatha started collecting her stuff, but she stopped to look up at Tedros. “Thank you so much for helping me…I hope I wasn’t too much of a bother for you.”

“Oh it was nothing, really,” Tedros deflected, his cheeks burning. 

Agatha smiled at him, waved at all of them, and left.

Rafal already knew what Tedros was going to say when he looked over:

“You didn’t know how to do that problem?” Tedros questioned.

Rafal shrugged and smirked. “I figured you’d appreciate it. You’re welcome.”

“Yeah but, you can’t just ambush me like that,” Tedros chided.

Rafal sighed dramatically. “Tedros, Tedros, Tedros... Love is not always planned. It’s usually more unexpected than anything,” Rafal defended, placing his hand on his heart.

“What would you know, Rafal?” Hort teased, snickering.

“Now I can’t even make a joke without being attacked,” Rafal complained.

“The point is that Rafal tried to help you, Tedros. Besides, that’s more of an interaction than you two usually have,” Beatrix pointed out.

“Yeah…that’s true,” Tedros conceded.

“Besides,” Rafal said, opening a bag of chips, “at least she now knows she can ask you about physics and get the right answer. And she struggles a lot in that class. It’s a small step, but one in the right direction.”

“Yeah…I mean I didn’t, like, mind her here, but just give me a heads up,” Tedros said.

“Alright, alright,” Rafal aquiesced. “But she has been saying she might get a tutor, since is hard for her. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to…volunteer.”

Hort smirked at Tedros. “I’d take that opportunity if I was you,” Hort advised. “Besides, do you even talk much to her?

“Only in Spanish class, really,” Tedros replied.

“You should take your chances with the tutoring,” Beatrix chimed in, taking a bite of her taco. “Wow, this is gross.” She pushed her basket aside and took a sip of her water.

“Yeah…if she brings up a tutor again, I’ll put in my good word,” Rafal assured. Tedros gave him a small smile and mumbled what sounded like “Thanks”

“Are you still going to tutor this year?” Hort asked.

Rafal shrugged. “I don’t know, seeing as I was told to loosen up.”

He earned three annoyed glares.

“Well, what subjects did you help tutor?” Tedros asked.

“Mostly French, but I also did some math classes,” Rafal said. “French is usually the wildcard, since there’s a lot of people I don’t like that take the class…I guess it wouldn’t be the worst to skip that this year.”

“See? It wasn’t a bad suggestion from us,” Beatrix crowed. Rafal shot her an annoyed look.

“Oh hey, totally off-topic,” he asked her and Hort, rolling his eyes, “but did you guys hand in the candy I gave you?”

“Yeah! I did it on my way to lunch,” Beatrix affirmed, giving him a thumbs up.

“I did it between classes. I got a few popular kids, too,” Hort grinned.

Rafal thanked them and apologized if he had bothered them, but they assured him he hadn’t. People wouldn’t actually vote until the next two days, but he liked to cover his bases and assure he’d win.

“Man, I hope they count those votes quickly; I don’t think you’ll make it too long with this anxiety,” Hort commented.

“Yeah…I do too,” Rafal hoped.

The worst part about class elections was the waiting: waiting for people to vote and waiting an extra day for anyone to announce the results. But he simply pushed away his anxious thoughts and tried to focus on his classes to the best of his ability.

It wasn’t his biggest success of the day.

***

Even if his mind was all over the place, Rafal remembered to meet Beatrix by Sader’s room at the end of the day. He promptly showed up after the bell rang, and unsurprisingly, Beatrix was the first person there.

“Hey, I was just waiting for you and Agatha to ask. I love Sader and all, but I feel really awkward asking teachers for stuff while I’m on my own,” Beatrix explained, tugging on a lock of hair.

Rafal chuckled. “Yeah, it’s fine. I have no qualms about that stuff. I feel like teachers know that too.” he replied.

Beatrix flashed him a quick grin and went back to playing with her hair. It wasn’t too long before Agatha got there.

“Sorry, I was all the way in the other building and it’s a long walk,” Agatha huffed, trying to regain her breath.

“Shouldn’t you be in shape? Being a cheerleader and all?” Rafal teased.

Agatha rolled her eyes. “As if you even know what physical activity is.” she retorted. “Anyways, he’ll probably say yes but I’ll ask. I gotta use my parenthood for others’ advantage sometimes.”

She knocked on the classroom’s door, and August Sader, who sat at his desk, quickly stood up and opened the door for them.

“Agatha—and Mr. Blackburn and Ms. Jolie. It’s been a while since you two have been in here. How’s my sister’s class treating you so far? Probably well, seeing as you two were some of my best students,” he asked, making his way back to his seat.

Agatha had dropped her stuff on an empty desk, while the Rafal and Beatrix awkwardly stood.

“It’s pretty good, but kind of boring,” Beatrix answered earnestly. Rafal snorted at her response, and Sader chuckled.

“There’s a reason I don't teach those particular topics. But what brings you here?” Sader inquired, with a curious expression on his face.

“Well, actually, these two are trying to start a book club, but they kind of need a moderator, and I said you probably would be willing to do it. Was I right?” Agatha asked sweetly.

Sader chuckled, then turned from his daughter to Rafal and Beatrix. “I don’t see why not, but why are you asking me instead of an English teacher?” he wondered.

Beatrix blushed, but Rafal answered for her:

“I mean, we didn’t really feel close enough to some of our past teachers, and some are so busy already, so we decided you’d be the best choice.” It was Rafal’s way of saying, ‘We kind of hate some our past English teachers,’ without sounding rude.

“Fair enough. And I take it you brought in Agatha as your good luck charm?” Sader asked them, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“It was actually my idea; I’d say it worked, didn’t it?” Agatha added.

“I will tell you that I’ve never moderated a club before, so I’ll probably won’t…do much, other than make sure everyone’s okay.” Sader said.

“Yes, that’s okay. We just needed someone to moderate for us. Thank you so much!” Beatrix smiled.

Sader simply requested from them to tell him when they would meet and any other important details after they got approval. The three teenagers cleared out of the room after they had gotten everything cleared up.

“Hey, thanks for um, asking him. I’m really terrible at this kind of stuff,” Beatrix told Agatha.

“Oh yeah, no problem! So, when are we first meeting?” Agatha asked Beatrix. The latter tilted her head in confusion.

“Wait, you’re joining?” she blurted. Agatha giggled.

“Well, yeah! I like reading too, and it sounds like you two are going to do a great job,” Agatha stated, as if it had been obvious since the start.

“Really? Oh, yay!” Beatrix squealed, making Agatha laugh.

“Anyways, I need to go to practice, but just like, text me or something and I’ll be there,” she said, taking her stuff with her and leaving.

Beatrix looked at Rafal and gasped happily. He laughed at her reaction.

“See? It’s going great already, and Agatha will probably tell her friends, so the information will definitely trickle down,” Rafal said.

“This is actually really exciting! Even though I’ll say you’ll probably have to help with some technical stuff and that’ll be kind of annoying, but still!” Beatrix cheered.

Rafal chuckled, and they stayed in the hallways talking for a while. He was happy for her; it was as new to him as it was for her.

If he had to ask himself: he had a good feeling about it all.

And that was something he didn't think every day.


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I'm back! School's been crazy lately, but I found some spare minutes to post this. As always, Aris edited, so thanks a lot!

The rest of lunch, Agatha impatiently waited for next period, when the other students would get to vote. They had been told the votes would be counted by the end of the day, which came to everyone as a pleasant surprise. It would at least put an end to a part of _her_ stress.

Although Rafal was more anxious than anyone was about the elections’ results, Agatha had her share of worries too. She had thought about being a member of the Council for a while, but she’d never been as bold or open enough to lead, well, anything.

She’d decided to run for vice-president because she’d been tired of other people’s decisions, and wanted to actually make the Student Council more enjoyable. While she sometimes felt unsure about winning, she realized her popularity would probably carry her through. It sounded totally conceited, but Agatha always noticed most of the people elected usually of a higher social status.

But her mind had been split between the election, her physics grade, and Beatrix’s little club.

“So yeah. Basically, I decided to join because it wouldn’t be too bad,” Agatha concluded, talking to her friends. “Besides, I’d like to read something that’s _not_ terrible, and I feel like someone my age, like Beatrix, could probably offer something worth my time.” She didn’t really know the girl all that well, but from what Rafal and Hort had said about her, she seemed nice enough—even if Agatha never really had thought they had a whole lot in common.

“Fair enough,” her friend Nicola conceded. “I get it if you like reading, but that has never been up my alley.”

“Yeah, same here,” Anadil added. “But what I find the most shocking is you and Beatrix Jolie being in the same place because of the same reason.”

Agatha shrugged. “I mean, I get that, but also, I don’t know her enough to question her likes…or her personality. She just seems bookish and studious for me. But really sweet.”

Hester, who sat next to Anadil, shrugged as well, looking at her long red nails in disinterest. “True. She _is_ a bit of a geek. Like, her being friends with Tedros Pendragon makes sense, but I never really understood how she and Hort are like, best friends.”

“Yeah, I don’t know, I guess it’s just one of those long friendships that has lasted a while,” Agatha said, shrugging.

“I’ve talked to them and I think they’re both really nice—especially Beatrix: she’s a sweetheart. Maybe I’ll join her book club; I don’t really read, but it wouldn’t hurt to try it,” Dot mused, shifting in her seat next to Agatha.

“You should! It can be like our little hang-out,” Agatha suggested.

Dot laughed. “I don’t think we really need an excuse to hang-out but sure.” She giggled, but Agatha waved her hand nonchalantly.

“You know what I mean,” Agatha said, then she remembered to add something: “Oh yeah, elections are right after this, so _please_ remember to vote for me!” she reminded her friends.

“You don’t have to remind me twice,” Hester teased.

“Yeah, Aggie,” Anadil assured. “I’m sure you’ll win.”

“Look, our class loves you; you’re totally winning this thing,” Nicola added.

Agatha blushed. “I wouldn’t go that far either, but thanks,” she said sheepishly.

***

The rest of the day, Agatha struggled to focus. Not so much over the elections, even though they definitely stole some of her concentration: her latest physics quiz had been graded, and it hadn’t been pretty. Agatha had hoped it was just one chapter she’d have trouble with, but it seemed that with every new chapter they learned she struggled even more.

She sighed. Maybe she _did_ need a tutor. She’d talked to Mx. Pollux several times, but he hadn’t been the best at clearing any of her doubts. She’d gotten better help from Tedros than she had from her _actual_ teacher. _That_ was a sad reality.

Agatha looked over at Rafal, who sat two rows over; and wondered if he knew someone that could help her. She _would_ like to _not_ flunk out of physics, and knowing Rafal, he’d definitely have some sort of contact with someone smart enough to help her.

_If I talked to Rafal… maybe Tedros could help me?_

Agatha shook her head at the thought. Tedros was probably too busy to help her—and they didn’t even know each other, so who was to tell he’d help her out?

_That’s totally a shame… He’s kind of cute…_

Agatha shoved that last thought away. She should be focusing on the notes on the Revolution. She could figure out her physics lessons later.

However, her efforts to focus were interrupted by the static coming from the PA.

“Good afternoon,” Mrs. Lesso’s voice announced. “We have counted the votes for the Junior Class’ elections, and here are the results.”

Agatha widened her eyes, and instinctively shared an anxious look with Rafal.

“For the office of Treasurer we have Kei Takahashi, and for Secretary we have Mona Green.” Ms. Lesso paused and Agatha’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

“And for the offices of Vice President and President, we have Agatha Sader and Rafal Blackburn, respectively. Congratulations to all winners; please report to Room 150 after last period is dismissed. We thank everyone for voting, and have a good afternoon.” Mrs. Lesso’s voice went silent, and the PA turned off.

Some people cheered for Agatha and Rafal, and the newly-elected shared winning smiles with each other.

“Guys, please,” their teacher—Agatha’s aunt Evelyn—called. “I know everyone is excited about the results but we need to get back into the lesson.” Students started to quiet down gradually, and she kept lecturing.

Agatha was thrilled at having won. She was also taken aback by how quickly they had counted the results, but she wasn’t complaining.

When the bell rang and dismissed everyone, Agatha and Rafal stayed behind in the classroom, seeing as they were in Room 150 already. Even though Mrs. Lesso had announced the results, it was usually Aunt Evelyn’s job to run the Council, so they usually met in her room.

“Well, how does it feel to win your third election?” Agatha teased Rafal.

“Pretty darn good,” Rafal replied. “Although I’m sure it doesn’t beat the feeling of winning your first.”

“I’m really excited! And I’m so glad we both won like we wanted to… but why did they tell us to meet here?” Agatha asked.

Evelyn answered her question: “They like taking a picture of the new officers for yearbook. It goes on the Council’s spread.”

Agatha simply nodded at that, and shortly after, Mona and Kei showed up, accompanied by Anadil, who carried one of yearbook’s cameras; she didn’t hesitate to come over to Agatha and congratulate her on winning.

“Alright everyone, I’m going to need you to huddle and smile,” Anadil instructed. “A little closer… Kei, move your head—perfect!” She took a few shots. “Alright! Thank you! I’ll be sure it looks good for the book.”

“Okay, so here’s the deal,” Evelyn proposed. “Since it’s a Wednesday, I can’t meet with you because I have to go and help coach the cheerleaders—but tomorrow I need you here at 3:30 _sharp_ , because Homecoming is approaching really fast and we _need_ to get moving with the planning.”

The four new Council Members nodded.

Agatha loved Homecoming Week, so she was _absolutely_ ready to plan it and make it the best one so far. Especially because terribly cheesy themes usually plagued their Week, and she was ready to get rid of that.

But first, she needed to get some affairs in order with Rafal.

As the platinum-haired boy was leaving, Agatha called after him and he turned around, raising his eyebrows inquisitively.

“Hey, so here’s the deal,” Agatha explained. “Mx. Pollux handed us back our quiz on graphing and I didn’t do well— _at all_. So I’m just really worried about my grades, and I was wondering if you maybe... knew someone that could help me? Kind of like a tutor I guess.”

Rafal was quiet for a few seconds. Then a slow smile crossed his face, like he’d come up with the perfect plan.

“How would you feel about having Tedros as your tutor? I mean, he is reliable and good at Physics. And he’s really patient, so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Agatha blinked in disbelief. Could that _actually_ happen?

“I mean, I’m completely fine with it—but what about him?” she asked, furrowing her brows.

“Well, I’m going to meet him by Beatrix’s locker. We can go ask him right now, if you want to,” Rafal suggested.

“Well, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” Agatha said sheepishly. “Why not?” If Rafal was so sure, then she should probably trust him.

She followed Rafal as they walked through the crowded hallways, until they finally spotted Beatrix, Hort and Tedros. Hort was the first one to see them, and he tackled Rafal into a hug.

“Dude, I told you you’d win!” Hort crowed, then let go of Rafal, turning to the newest Council Member. “You too, Agatha. Congrats.”

She smiled brightly at him. “Thank you,” she replied, and he gave her a congratulatory hug of her own.

“Alright. Now although I appreciate the atmosphere, Agatha _did_ come here for a reason,” Rafal stated.

His three friends looked at him curiously, then stared at Agatha, expectant.

Agatha cleared her throat, feeling slightly out of place.

“Right, well, I’m not doing so well in physics…,” she confessed, turning to Tedros, “and Rafal said you could help me, instead of me having to go through the process of getting a tutor. But it’s completely fine if you can't…or don’t want to.”

Tedros raised his eyebrows in pure bewilderment. Agatha was sure he probably wouldn’t do it. She selfishly wished he’d agree.

“Y-yeah, I can… I can do it. Just, uh, just- just tell me when a-a-and where, and I’ll… I’ll help you,” Tedros stammered, and Agatha beamed at him.

“Thank you! I really don’t want to fail this class. Just tell me when you can meet me, and I’ll tell you when I can make it,” Agatha said.

“Yeah! S-sure, whenever you get... time…,” Tedros murmured, and Agatha laughed a little.

“I need to go to practice, but I’ll see you around. Thanks again!” she exclaimed, and turned around, heading for the gym with a new bounce in her step.

She’d conquered the elections, and now, not even a bad grade could stop her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, this was def a filler chapter but I'm hoping in the next one or two we get more action so, stay tuned!  
> If you liked this, please leave me a comment; they're like cookies for authors!


	5. V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm back with another chapter! It took a little longer because I've been super busy with exams, but I jsut want to thank all the people that has commented and left kudos on here. You guys rock! 
> 
> Also, Aris totally edited this and made it way better so...thanks dude, ily!

 “I just don’t think it’ll work out like _you_ think it will,” Tedros argued, Rafal, Hort, and Beatrix taking the opposing side.

The four of them had decided to go out and grab ice cream to celebrate Rafal’s presidential victory, but the conversation had slowly turned towards his setting-up of Agatha and Tedros. The latter was currently trying not to mope too much about it.

“Come on, Ted. It’ll work out. You just have to believe it will,” Hort advised the blonde.

“I don’t know… It’s just that tutoring usually doesn’t lead to anything other than someone boosting their grades,” Tedros pointed out.

Rafal rolled his eyes. “But it sure as hell _is_ quality time, right?” he objected, irritated by his friend’s melodrama. “Look, man; it’s not perfect—but if you keep waiting for a perfect opportunity to show up, you’ll never get _anything_ done.”

Tedros looked down at his shoes, and Rafal felt a pang of regret. Maybe he’d been a _bit_ too harsh.

But Beatrix piped up with: “Rafal has a point,” and they heard a sigh from the other boy.

“…I hate to admit it,” Tedros surrendered, “but you’re sort of right. It is better than what I had before. I just... don’t know how I’ll manage to talk to her.”

Hort, who sat next to him, patted his shoulder. “Relax. There’s two important factors working in your favor: first, you can _definitely_ talk about physics, which is what she’s there for. Second, Agatha _loves_ to chat, so she’ll definitely start some conversation. All _you_ have to do is build on it.”

Tedros lightened up.

“And if I were you, I’d try to answer her in something _other_ than monosyllables,” Beatrix added, giggling.

Tedros shot her an irritated look.

“Do you two even have a way to contact each other? I mean, for the actual purpose of studying.” Rafal asked.

Tedros blinked as he tried to remember. “Oh… no.” He frowned.

Hort pulled out his phone with an easy smile. “I gotcha. I’ll text you her number, and all you have to do is text her saying who you are, and say I gave you her number. Seems pretty simple to me.”

“Are you sure she won’t be weirded out?” Tedros asked. Hort waved him off.

“Nah, she’ll totally understand. You’re her tutor: you kinda need to talk.”

“If you say so… Dang Rafal, I’m sorry that I’m stealing your spotlight with my own issues,” Tedros apologized, but the School President simply chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it. I just wanted an excuse to get ice cream. Besides, Ms. Sader already said we’re going to start planning Homecoming Week soon, so I’ll be talking about the Council a _lot_ within the next weeks.”

“Don’t you hate planning that?” Beatrix asked.

“Eh… ‘hate’ is a strong word. It’s just…challenging to put up with all the clashing opinions and keep up with the people-pleasing. I think it should be better this year, though.” Rafal certainly enjoyed being part of the Council, but when it came to planning big events, he always felt a _lot_ of pressure. It was one of the few downsides of his role.

“Well that’s good,” Beatrix replied. “It’d be nice if you enjoyed Homecoming Week.”

“I don’t… _not_ enjoy it, is just a lot to do,” Rafal replied.

“I’m sure it’ll be great. Besides, I trust Agatha will help make it better: she always says she loves Homecoming… Man, we should’ve invited her to celebrate _her_ victory too. I’m sure _someone_ wouldn’t have minded,” Hort teased, wiggling his eyebrows at a certain friend mischievously.

“Can’t I ever do anything without being mocked?” Tedros complained loudly.

Hort sniggered. “Not while I’m present!”

Tedros sighed, making Beatrix laugh.

“Lay it off, Hort. Tedros has to figure out a way to actually tutor her. He doesn’t need your teasing on top of it,” she told Hort.

“Yeah! You should listen to her,” Tedros suggested.

Hort rolled his eyes. “You’ve gone soft, Pendragon.”

“Or you’ve just gone annoying,” Rafal chimed.

Hort frowned. The other three just laughed.

 

* * *

 

Rafal had been so busy thinking about his Council responsibilities, he almost forgot about helping Beatrix with her club. Luckily, she had texted him before that had happened, asking if it was okay to meet tomorrow after school and help plan for it. They had decided to meet at the school library, since it was usually uncrowded and quiet most of time.

Rafal looked forward to it. He liked helping his friends, and a silly part of him felt honored Beatrix chose _him_ to help her.

However, he still had to sit through two more periods before he did that. He had just gotten to English class, his least favorite class of the day. He had never been too fond of the subject, but for some reason, having it near the end of the day made it even _worse_.

The classroom’s baby blue walls seemed to close around him as Ms. Dovey lectured about ‘Beowulf’. Rafal wrote down what she said, not fully understanding anything—but stopped at the sound of some _very_ dangerous words:

“Now, this is one of my favorite units because you get to do a _group project_.”

Rafal’s eyes snapped up from his paper up to Ms. Dovey, widening in dread. ‘Group projects’ never ended well for him, _especially_ in English. The only person he liked enough to work with in his class was Agatha, and she sat next to him with an equally skeptical look at Ms. Dovey’s words.

He had heard the rumors about Ms. Dovey’s projects: sleepless nights; hours and hours spent making a tiny model perfect; friendships torn apart over a due date. Rafal thought it was horsecrap, but he knew one thing: he was _not_ prepared for this project.

“I’m sure your peers from previous years have talked about the game board project. Everyone makes it out to be some kind of Hell, but that’s only because everyone waits until last minute to do it. This year, however—seeing as last year was a _disaster_ —I’ll be giving you about three weeks to do it. I’ll give you the instructions and parameters, and you’ll build your board with your partners. We will have a test on ‘Beowulf’ tomorrow, and after that, I’ll give you some time with your group to organize. Use it _wisely_ ,” Dovey warned.

Nicola Reed raised her hand and asked, “Do _we_ choose our partners? And how many people are in one group?”

“No. I do,” Dovey answered, followed by a wave of groans from all the students. “And each group will have four to five people, so divide your workload accordingly.”

Rafal was _so_ not feeling good. More like attacked _._ _Especially_ when he looked around and saw Sophie and _Aric_ were in his class. He couldn’t work with either of them. And _they_ couldn’t work with _anyone._

And a _game board_? Was he in fourth grade again? He had to roll his eyes at the absurdity of it all.

The more he looked around, the more he realized his partnership options weren’t looking so good. Knowing Ms. Dovey, he and Agatha probably wouldn’t be in the same group—

Another hand shot up.

“When will we know our pairings?” Agatha asked, clearly as anxious as Rafal.

Ms. Dovey answered by pulling out a sheet and putting on her reading glasses. “Right now,” she said, and she started reading out names.

Rafal nervously waited, listening intently.

The groups and their members were slowly listed, new teammates swiveling around in their chairs to find each other.

Rafal heard Ms. Dovey called Aric’s name.

Rafal held his breath—

His name wasn’t said next.

He sighed in relief, and wished the guy’s partners good luck.

Then he heard his teacher move on:

“For Group 5, we have Rafal Blackburn—”

Rafal sat up straighter.

“Sophie Jones—”

His eyes widened.

“—and Agatha and Rhian Sader.”

He sank back in his seat, sharing a distressed look with Agatha. Then they glanced across the room at Sophie, who scowled back.

“We can’t work with Sophie! All three of us would _die_ ,” Agatha hissed.

“ _Don’t you think I know that_? I say we talk to Ms. Dovey after class. She knows you and I hate Sophie, and vice versa! It would just end up a _disaster_ ,” Rafal agreed, wincing at another scathing glare from their shared enemy.

“Sophie _hates_ me, but I feel she’d want to get out of this just as much as we do,” Agatha said.

“You’re right. Maybe we all agree on that, Ms. Dovey will listen,” Rafal suggested.

“Yeah. But I don’t think Rhian would care about which group he’s in,” Agatha said, her gaze drifting behind them both.

Rafal turned around, finding Rhian starting to zone out as he gazed out of the window. The guy always sat at the back, never talking much unless spoken to. He was one of those quiet smart kids, who never really bothered much with clubs or any other activities.

Sometimes, Rafal forgot he was even there at all.

“I feel like you’re right,” Rafal said, turning back to Agatha.

“It shouldn’t take more than five minutes,” Agatha resolved, her attention shifting to Ms. Dovey’s resumed lesson.

Rafal _really_ hoped this would go their way. Ms. Dovey was a pretty stern teacher regarding some issues, but hopefully she would understand their inability to cooperate.

When the bell rang, luck was on their side: the pair shared the next class with their nemesis, so when they saw Sophie entering the History classroom, they made a beeline for her.

“What do you want?” Sophie demanded as she leaned her desk, dropping her bag on the ground. Her hooded green eyes were highlighted by thick black eyeliner, which exaggerated her annoyed expression as she looked them up and down.

Rafal looked at Agatha, giving her a prompting nudge.

Agatha shot him a look back, elbowing him harder.

Rafal gave in.

“Look, I know none of us want to work together, so Agatha and I thought all of us should go and tell Ms. Dovey why we shouldn’t be in the same group,” he pleaded. “I know we can’t cooperate, but if we did _this_ once it would really help us.”

Sophie was silent for a moment, her jaw working as she thought.

“I’ll go,” she agreed.

“You will?” Agatha said, hopeful.

“I sure as hell don’t wanna work with either of you,” Sophie scoffed. Then she scowled. “Now beat it.”

Rafal and Agatha nodded and left wordlessly.

If _Sophie_ agreed with them, then Ms. Dovey should understand.

With a new priority in mind, he had rushed to text Beatrix before class started to tell her he might be a few minutes late, explaining the situation at hand. He had gotten no response yet, but he hoped she’d see it. He’d would hate for Bea to think he was blowing her off.

It wasn’t too problematic meeting up to head to Dovey’s classroom, since they were all coming from the same place. It was, however, a _very_ awkward walk, and not just because people were giving the odd trio funny looks as they passed through the hallways.

They knocked on the door, and their teacher opened it.

“Hey, Ms. Dovey. I know we usually don’t do this—but we have an _urgent_ request for you,” Agatha said, smiling nervously.

Ms. Dovey peered at her student through her spectacles, as if challenging her to go on. “What’s so urgent about it? Please, take a seat.” She pointed to the first row of desks in her classroom, moving to sit at her own, calmly grading papers as Agatha continued.

“Well, you see… it’s about the group project. Sophie and me don’t get along. _At all_. We can barely even _sit_ next to each other.” Agatha glanced over at the other girl, who had taken her own seat at the opposite end of the row.

“Same goes for me,” Rafal added. “Every time we’ve been in a group, we’ve been at each other’s throats. It’s impossible for us to work together.”

“Looks like this is a bashing party for Sophie,” Ms. Dovey pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, Ms. Dovey,” Sophie assured, narrowing her eyes at the others, “I can assure you that it’s _not_. I don’t like them either, and us working together is _never_ going to happen. They’re _literally_ my least favorite people in this school.”

“So... I’m guessing you want me to change your group for the game board?” Ms. Dovey surmised.

They all nodded vehemently.

“Then I have to say no.”

Rafal widened his eyes.

“What do you _mean_ ‘no’?” Sophie blurted.

“I mean no,” Ms. Dovey clarified. “You have to learn to work together. Besides, all of you are in the same group for a reason: Rafal has great organizational skills, and he’s a natural-born leader; Agatha is a cooperative team player; Sophie is incredibly creative, which is something you need for a project like this. And Rhian? Well, he’s quite smart—but really, I put him with you as a buffer for everyone because I _know_ you all have big egos.”

Rafal was stunned. He could see Agatha blushing furiously, while Sophie just looked down at her feet. They were all locked in the same dismayed silence for a good while, taking in their teacher’s decision.

“I don’t have a big ego,” Sophie said finally, then pointed to Rafal. “ _He_ does.”

Rafal narrowed his eyes. “Well, at least I’m not a _sociopath_ that ruins everything for everyone!” he spat.

Sophie shot up from her seat, ready to shoot back another scalding retort—

“ _Enough_ ,” Ms. Dovey ordered. “You either figure this out, or I give you an _automatic F._ This project is not about working with your best friends. It’s about teamwork—which you _clearly_ don’t have, seeing as you didn’t even bring your fourth group member with you.”

“I mean, Rhian has no feuds with anyone here,” Agatha observed. Ms. Dovey glanced at her irritatedly, and Agatha looked away, sheepish.

“Figure it out, and make it work. You are dismissed. No ‘but’s,” Ms. Dovey concluded, returning her attention to her paperwork.

The three reluctant groupmates grabbed their stuff and left awkwardly.

“Well, that went _great_!” Rafal snarked.

Sophie was already storming her way down the hallway, parting students like a knife.

“We _really_ have to do this, huh?” Agatha sighed, watching her go.

“I guess so,” Rafal replied. “We’ll need to take advantage of tomorrow’s period to plan… And hey, at least we have each other.”

“Yeah. And Rhian, too. Hooray for small victories.”

“Do you really think Rhian will act as a buffer like Ms. Dovey said?” Rafal asked.

“Probably. Rhian doesn’t mind a lot of people. The only person that he has ever kind of hated was Aric. I think he should be fine.” Agatha raised her eyebrow. “Why?”

“He might have to deal with Sophie a lot while we figure out…” Rafal waved his hand around vaguely. “Everything.”

“Yeah… I don’t know how all three of us are going to handle it, especially since Sophie is gonna be a pain in our necks,” Agatha worried, voicing both their thoughts.

Rafal frowned. “How are we even going to make a game board? That’s another question…”

Agatha shrugged helplessly.

“I don’t know. God, this _already_ sounds like the worst project of the year. Anyway, I need to go,” she said, checking her phone. “I _really_ hope we can work this out _somehow_ tomorrow. See you at the Council meeting.”

Rafal waved her goodbye, feeling more stressed than he had been since the elections. He pulled out his phone, relieved to see Beatrix had replied:

‘ _It’s all good. Just meet me when you guys are done. I already found a spot.’_

Rafal headed down the stairs and entered the library, easily finding Beatrix where she sat at a table behind a bookshelf. Her hair was tied back and, thanks to her soft pink shirt, she was a splash of color in the muted beige tones of the library. She smiled brightly at Rafal, and waved at him.

“Hey Bea, I hope you weren’t waiting here for long,” Rafal said, placing his stuff on the table and taking a seat next to her.

“Oh no! It’s fine. Anyways,” Beatrix frowned, “why were you talking to Ms. Dovey?”

“It’s about the project she assigned today,” Rafal sighed. “Agatha and I are in the same group, but… so is Sophie... We tried talking to Dovey about it, but she didn’t do anything about it.”

Beatrix winced. “Yikes. That’s a lot of conflict in one group. I’m just concerned with the project itself. I’ve heard it’s a lot of work.”

“Yeah, it sure seems like it. But anyways, what are you thinking for your club?” Rafal deflected, not wanting to get sidetracked from the reason they were there.

“Well,” Beatrix began, seeming a bit more chipper about the topic, “I chose our first book to begin with, and I also have a location—but I don’t know when to start meeting, because I don’t want to start during Homecoming Week, and I don’t know when _that’s_ going to be...”

“I think Homecoming Week will be like…” Rafal hummed, trying to remember. “First week of October, so in two weeks, I think. I’m not super sure, but I’ll ask Ms. Sader. We have a meeting today in like, twenty minutes.”

“Oh cool, thanks! Also, I’d like to make flyers because those _really_ get people’s attention. So I was thinking... maybe Hort could help out? Since he’s like, artistic and I’m not.”

Rafal chuckled. “Yeah, definitely get him. Hort will definitely draw anything if you were to ask him. He’d just have to make like, five, ten, maybe? Just spread them out around school and more people will see it,” he suggested.

Beatrix nodded. “Do you think they could mention it during morning announcements? They usually do it for other clubs.”

“Yeah, I don’t see why not,” Rafal smiled. “Looks like you’re on a really good track! Trust me: not every club officer takes as much care of straightening out everything like you’re doing.”

“Wow, thanks! That means a lot to me because you’ve been on a lot of clubs and organizations and stuff, so I feel like you know what you’re talking about? And I’m just so glad you’re helping me out,” Beatrix babbled happily.

“You learn what not to do…I’m excited for you, though. I can’t wait to see you running your own little thing.” Rafal admitted.

Beatrix looked away.

“Yeah um, I’m just concerned about speaking in front of other people…,” she admitted worriedly. “I don’t know. I’m not like, super commanding or anything, so it just makes me nervous thinking I’m going to be running a club.”

Rafal’s expression softened. “Beatrix, if there’s someone that can lead a book club, it’s _you_ ,” he assured. “All you have to do is simply say what your purpose is, and be yourself. Besides, you’re great at talking about books. That, at least, should be in your comfort zone.”

Beatrix blushed and smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate the vow of confidence. I’ll still be nervous, though.”

Rafal returned the gesture. “I’d talk to Hort soon if I was you. And if he can’t do as many flyers as you need, I can photocopy them at like…well, those places that make really nice prints and copies,” Rafal offered. Beatrix giggled.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, but thank you,” Beatrix said.

“Yeah, of course. Look, I’d love to stay here behind and talk, but the Council meeting’s starting soon, and I need to head out. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Rafal said.

Beatrix nodded, standing up and picking up her belongings.

“Yeah, that’s all good. Please try and find out when Homecoming Week is, so that I can find some good timing,” she asked, Rafal following her out of the library.

“For sure. I’m sure it won’t be next week, though, so that’ll give you plenty of time,” Rafal assured.

Beatrix nodded again. “That’s good. And… I know you probably don’t want to talk about it—but I’m sorry about your English group. I hope you can find a way of not killing Sophie,” she sympathized.

“I’ll manage…I think,” Rafal sighed. “I’m just wondering how much we have to do, because three weeks is a lot of time for a board…”

“Yeah, it is. Anyway, gotta go! Thanks for all the help again!” Beatrix bounced off, leaving Rafal to walk alone to the meeting.

Talking about the book club had distracted him for a few moments, but now that he was left with his stewing thoughts, Rafal was starting to feel more and more unsettled.

This project was going to be the death of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah...that was ch.5. I would like to add their English project is completely based of my own experience with a game board project and man, that was Rough, hence, this. Also, what's a better way to bring in Sophie than through her top enemies?
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a kudos or comment, or both if you wanna make me extra happy!


	6. VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up my dudes? I bring you another update, much quicker than I expected too! Big thanks to Aris for editing this and adding bits to make it better!! He's on tumblr @filipofmounthonora he has some good stuff!

           Ever since the latest Council meeting, Agatha had been excited to plan Homecoming Week. They had chosen the theme for the dance (“Starlight Fairytale”; Agatha was more than excited about that), pinned down the dates, and they had already printed out sheets for the Court nominations.

She had been so ready get involved in their activities—but soon enough it hit her that she also had to balance her lengthy cheer practices, suffer through Ms. Dovey’s unfair group and project, and work hard with Tedros Pendragon to pull up her physics grade.

Hort had passed Agatha her tutor’s number, and almost immediately after she’d texted Tedros asking if they could meet after school, seeing as she had a test coming up really soon. Agatha felt bad for the suddenness of the request, but Tedros had seemed not to mind—just a little nervous.

She couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but there was something about their arrangement that made her feel a little awkward. Maybe it was just the fact she didn’t really know Tedros. But then again, from what little she knew of him, he seemed nice...

And pretty cute.

She blushed, waving the thought away.

“Hey, what’s up? You’ve got something on your mind,” Hester observed, dropping down onto the bleachers next to Agatha. Her skin had a light sheen of sweat on it, a result of the strenuous practice that’d just ended.

Agatha sighed. “I just have a lot to do, especially now that I’m Vice President. But I’ll be fine. I just need to try and not fail anything.”

She hummed, another thought crossing her mind as she took a sip from her water bottle. “Oh, and also... I know you’re probably going to kill me for this—but I might have to skip practice during Homecoming Week. We apparently have a physics test around then, and I’m going to need all the time I can get to study,” she explained, apologetic.

Hester stared at her blankly, her lips pursed. Hester was cheer captain, and although she and Agatha were best friends outside of cheerleading, their relationship regarding the sport was a little… different.

Hester started to frown. Agatha wilted slightly.

“Don’t you just usually study after practice?” the captain questioned.

Agatha glanced around. “Well, yeah,” she confirmed, “but I kind of have a tutor now, so my schedule’s getting pretty complicated.”

“That’s new... Since when, exactly?” Hester asked.

Agatha grinned sheepishly. “Since like, yesterday? Rafal pretty much got Tedros to tutor for me… It was really random, but it works for me.”

Hester raised a curious brow.

“Tedros Pendragon?” she mused. “I wouldn’t have pegged him as the type to volunteer tutoring services.”

Agatha giggled.

“Yeah, I guess so. But he’s willing to tutor me, so I’m just thankful for that. It just sucks I have to work my schedule around a whole bunch now. Especially for Homecoming,” Agatha sighed.

“Okay, like: I get it—but really? It’s our most important game, and you know your aunt is gonna kill you when you tell her,” Hester said.

Agatha winced. Having her aunt as teacher, coach and moderator for the Council was rough at times.

“You’re right… Maybe I’ll just lie and say one of her assignments for History is really stressing me out,” she considered. “I mean, I can totally play the ‘it’s an AP class’ card. I’ll just have to do it over dinner or something like that.”

“What are you talking about?” Anadil asked, who had just gotten there. She took a seat next to Hester, and once she’d gotten an update from Agatha, she frowned in sympathy. “Oh dang. Are you sure you’ll have to skip? You’re one of the best tumblers on the squad, and you know Ms. Evelyn will want you on your best form.”

“I know,” Agatha whined.

“I’m sorry, Aggie,” Anadil said, but brightened up again quickly. “On an unrelated note, you all should nominate me for Homecoming Court! It looks fun.”

Agatha rolled her eyes but chuckled.

“It is fun. It just sucks because you have to go on the field while wearing your cheer uniform and you’re sweaty and gross. I speak from experience,” Hester recounted.

Agatha remembered last year, when Hester got nominated and ran off to the field while putting on her sash. Her friend had looked perfect in the pictures, though. Agatha wondered how.

“I’m loving the encouragement from my girlfriend,” Anadil teased.

Hester rolled her eyes. “I was just warning you—but I’ll nominate you, don’t worry,” she assured.

Anadil grinned at her and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

“Thanks! But anyway, Agatha, you should really try to make it to practice if you can. It’s a big deal for the squad—and for the school,” Anadil said.

Agatha just sighed, nodding.

“I’ll try. But I can’t make any promises.”

* * *

 

Agatha wasn’t sure how she’d solve her Homecoming dilemma, but the day after practice, she had more immediate problems at hand. Like the test on ‘Beowulf’ she had most certainly just failed, and the project Ms. Dovey wanted them to do.

Ms. Dovey ordered them to get together with their groups (a _joyous_ occasion, really), and she’d handed them the directions for the project. She had announced she had some materials, but everyone had been too focused on reading the instructions. Agatha took the paper and scanned it, her horror intensifying for every second she took to understand what they had to do.

“Well, how bad is it?” Rafal asked her—but Sophie snatched the sheet away from Agatha.

“Um, how the _fuck_ does she expect us to do all of this? That’s a lot of shit to buy to make _one_ game,” Sophie complained.

Strangely enough, Agatha agreed with her.

“Um, didn’t she say she was going to give us a board or something?” Rhian asked quietly, ignoring the sheet entirely.

“She did,” Rafal confirmed, “but it’d have to be a pretty big one. I mean, she wants a _minimum_ of 150 spaces… What kind of—”

“That’s fucking bullshit,” Sophie hissed, glancing to see if Ms. Dovey heard.

Rafal glared at her, then shared a look with Agatha as if to say, “ _Really_?”

“It looks like we might have to meet after school. It doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting a whole lot of class time to do this,” Agatha groaned. Add _that_ to her growing list of responsibilities.

“ _Well_ ,” Sophie scoffed, “if we _have_ to meet, and _if_ we want to keep it at school: we definitely _can’t_ use the library.”

“Why not?” Rhian inquired politely, taking the instructions from her.

Sophie glowered at a spot on the table. “I’m banned from it.”

“Of course you are,” Agatha muttered. The other girl’s scowl shot up to her instead.

“How do you get banned from the library?” Rhian questioned, confused.

Sophie gave him an oddly non-hostile look and shrugged. “There’s more than a _few_ ways...,” she grumbled.

Agatha sighed, irritated.

“The library wouldn’t work anyways: we have to talk a lot to do this. I think we might have to meet at one of our houses,” Rafal proposed. “My house is pretty empty, and I have a study room—so we can use that if you guys are fine with that.”

“I mean, I have a big, empty house too—but I guess ‘ _Rafal_ _is the boss now’_ ,” Sophie snarked, studying her chipped nails.

“Can’t you just _shut up_ and _listen_ for once?” Rafal snapped.

“Maybe if you weren’t so _goddamn_ —”

“Not to be controversial,” Rhian chimed in quickly, trying to bring back the discussion to the project before it escalated, “but Rafal’s house sounds fine to me…”

“I agree,” Agatha added, just as swiftly. “His study room sounds perfect for us.” Besides, Rafal’s house was nice. She’d only been there once or twice, but the guy _definitely_ lived in luxury.

In the midst of the noisy classroom, they heard Ms. Dovey approach their circle of desks with the awaited board. Agatha took it, just as Rafal and Sophie forced themselves to settle down while their teacher gave them both a stern look.

“So…,” Rhian prompted, reading off the paper. “We have to paint this and represent Beowulf’s journey.”

“Didn’t he like, sail a lot or something? We can just paint the board blue and add ships and all that shit,” Sophie suggested lazily.

“I guess we’ll need paint… Should we start meeting this week? And if so, when? And should we have a lot of shorter meetings or just a few longer ones?” Rafal asked.

Agatha frowned. “I really can’t meet a lot during the week; I’m pretty busy bouncing between cheer practice, studying, and Council stuff,” she informed. “ _Especially_ Council stuff.”

Rafal sighed at the reminder. “That’s true.” He turned to Rhian and Sophie. “How about you two?”

“My schedule has jack shit on it. As for the other thing: both options sound annoying, so I guess I’ll just suffer either way,” Sophie grumbled.

Rhian simply shrugged. “I don’t have much going on, either. My schedule’s still a little weird, though, what with my mom being a teacher and all. But I’m sure I can work it out pretty easy.”

“Oh that’s right,” Rafal nodded. “Then should we just meet on weekends?”

“Seeing as some of you have _impossible_ schedules apparently, I guess we have no choice.” Sophie sighed _obnoxiously_ loud, and Agatha had to restrain the urge to strangle her.

She settled for a hard, angry stare. Sophie couldn’t possibly understand what it was like having after-school commitments. Or doing anything _productive_ for once.

“I guess it’s settled, then,” Agatha stated slowly. “We’re meeting by Rafal’s place… Saturday?”

“Can you guys make it by one?” Rafal asked, fixing his glasses as he spoke.

“In the morning?” Sophie drawled, an insufferable smirk crossing her face.

“In the _afternoon_ ,” Rafal corrected stiffly.

“I sure could if I had an address,” Sophie remarked.

Rafal simply let out a drained sigh in response. After they all exchanged numbers and created a group chat (making sure not to give Sophie _any_ control over it), it looked like they all knew where they were supposed to be going.

“Well, at least we managed _something_ ,” Rafal said finally, hearing the bell ring.

“Yeah…Saturday is going to be _so_ much fun,” Sophie snorted.

Rafal and Agatha traded exasperated glances.

Rhian just looked like he wanted out.

 

* * *

 

After the bell rang for last period, Agatha had headed off to the library. She wasn’t really sure where she was supposed to meet Tedros, so she simply stood by the doors, scrolling through her phone apps while she waited for the boy to appear. Agatha had never needed to be tutored before, and she wasn’t all too sure how this would work. She just hoped Tedros was patient enough for _all_ her questions.

She heard footsteps coming from the staircase and looked up from her phone. Tedros was approaching, stumbling over the stairs and carrying textbooks in his arms.

“Hi, I’m so sorry I’m late—it’s just that my English group couldn’t agree on something, and we had to stay behind to arrange it... so it took us way longer than I expected,” Tedros rambled.

Agatha dismissed it with a wave. “It’s okay. It couldn’t have been as bad as _mine_. Besides, I’ve only been waiting like, less than five minutes,” she said, offering Tedros a quick smile. He returned the gesture nervously.

The two of them walked into the library and took a seat at a table by a corner, where they sat secluded by the bookshelves. It smelled of carpets and old books, and the only noise that could be heard was the sound of the air conditioning.

They laid out their stuff on the table, and Agatha immediately started listing what she didn’t understand—which was pretty much everything. Tedros smiled nervously, listening to her, and she started to feel pretty awkward until his words calmed her down.

“Well, at least you um, know the basics? I-I mean, there’s a lot to- to know—but I’ll try my best,” Tedros offered. He guided her through her homework (Agatha had gotten exactly _one_ problem right), and explained how to do it as simply as he could. She felt like an idiot whenever he had to explain something more than once.

“I’m sorry I ask the same thing so many times. I’ll understand if you don’t want to keep doing this after today,” Agatha mumbled, feeling a blush creep across her cheeks.

“Oh, n-no, no, don’t worry about it. I uh, don’t mind, actually,” Tedros said, fixing his crooked glasses.

“Are you sure?” Agatha pressed.

“Yeah, um, I mean, it-it’s just physics, and you need help… It’s no big deal. Really,” Tedros insisted with a shy smile. Agatha tucked in a lock of hair behind her ear, still feeling some minor embarrassment.

“Thank you. Especially doing this on such short notice,” Agatha said.

“No problem. But uh…you still um, have... a problem left. D-do you… do you know how to do it now?” Tedros asked her awkwardly.

“Um, yeah…” Agatha said, like a liar. She squinted at it and tried to do what it was asking—but she quickly gave up and sighed. “Never mind. Just help me, please.”

“Well, you just have to—could I have your pencil?” Tedros asked.

Agatha could’ve sworn he flinched when their hands brushed together. Maybe she was just seeing things. But as her eyes flickered from her homework to his face, she started noticing how his golden curls fell around the frame of his glasses. And when he reached up to brush them away, she noticed for the first time how blue his eyes were...

Agatha shook her head and focused back on the graph she was supposed to be doing. She could look at Tedros later.

“So _that’s_ how you do it! Wow, I was…not smart,” she laughed.

Tedros chuckled. “So did that help you out?” he asked.

Agatha flashed him a bright smile. “ _Definitely._ I think you just upped my grade by an entire letter,” she joked.

“I mean, I-I wouldn’t um, say that just yet,” Tedros stammered modestly.

“You could use a whole lot more confidence in your tutoring skills. Or at least enough to take my compliment,” Agatha teased, the blonde boy blushing profusely. She hid her giggle at the sight.

“I guess I could…,” Tedros admitted as they put away their belongings.

“You _should_. You’re like, the best at physics. Even _Rafal_ said you’re better than him.” Agatha looked around before whispering, “And between you and me, he _definitely_ has a big ego when it comes to grades.”

Tedros laughed at her comment as they walked out of the library. “I might tell him that one day—not that _you_ said it, of course,” he mused.

“You should. If just to see what he says,” Agatha suggested.

They fell into a small silence as they stepped into the hallway, Tedros hugging his books to his chest, Agatha gripping the straps of her bag. She noticed the boy hesitate for a moment, like he was expecting something to happen, and she fumbled to break the quiet.

“Hey um, thanks—again—for doing this. I think I’ll do way better on the quiz now… and I guess I’ll just text you when I need help? Or just to say that I _haven’t_ failed,” she joked.

Tedros chuckled softly at that, and she felt… kind of relieved that he did.

“Yeah…that’d be nice. Um, I need to go right now but, I-I’m glad I helped,” he said, nervously drumming his fingers on his books.

“You _definitely_ helped. So much. I guess I’ll see you around?” Agatha replied.

“Yeah, I’ll see you,” Tedros said, awkwardly waving her goodbye.

As she watched him head off, she felt a warmth rise to her cheeks at the thought of seeing him again. Maybe she should fail the quiz and see him sooner.

She laughed silently to herself, shaking her head as she started walking away. Now _that_ was dumb.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we finally got to see some Tagatha interaction. It'll probably be awkward for a while, but also, there'll be more of it in like two to three chapters; before that, I gotta make some other stuff happen.
> 
> Also, if you're a fan of Sophie in this, or in general, I hope you guys enjoy next chapter cause it'll be the first one written from her POV ;))))
> 
> Ooh and quick question! What do you guys think of the story so far? Yay? Nay? Any particular character you're biased for and would like to hear from them? Tell me below in the comments! I like hearing from you! :3
> 
> Please kudos and comment! 
> 
> Love, Sofia!


	7. VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another chapter, another one edited by Aris! thx bby!

While her peers looked forward to the weekend with anticipation, Sophie only had dread.

Seeing as Agatha was  _ apparently  _ unavailable on the weekdays and Rafal decided they  _ had  _ to work with her there, Sophie was now forced to devote her Saturday to spending time working on a bullshit project with  _ two _ people she hated.

Well. And Rhian.

Sophie sighed as she got ready, pulling a sable slip dress over a checkered black-and-white top. She gave herself a cursory glance in the mirror, adjusting her outfit accordingly. She looked good enough for an English project, she supposed. Presentable.

Not that she cared what any of them thought.

Sophie turned away, slipping on a pair of black Doc Martens and heading out of her house. She shot her mom a quick text of where she was going for the afternoon, and hopped into her car. Rafal’s house was only like, ten minutes away, so she wasn’t going to hurry or anything. Apparently, he had a whole  _ mansion  _ to live in — Sophie was  _ definitely _ curious to see if that was true.

She drove down the residential streets, watching them slowly transform into a nice, rich neighborhood . It seemed pretty normal,  except for all the huge fenced-off houses with fancy gates, and the fact it was  _ quiet _ . Eerily so. Where she lived, she could at least hear a couple dogs barking occasionally — but here, it seemed like she was in a vacuum.

As Sophie neared Rafal’s house, she was starting to hope she wasn’t the first one there. That’d be too weird for her liking. It was uncomfortable enough, working on something with other people; she didn’t know if she’d be able to stand being alone with Mr. President.

She pulled up to a pair of large gates, similar to pretty much every other house she’d driven past —and held down her car horn as long as she could, hopefully annoying Rafal with the noise until the gates finally swung open. She snickered, rolling into the driveway. There were a couple of cars parked there; she hoped they weren’t  _ both  _ Rafal’s.

Sophie got out of her car, taking her time as she took a nice long look at the house. She whistled. Her friends sure didn’t lie about the size of it. She twirled her keys around on her finger as she walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

Rafal opened the door.

“Come in,” he said, a little testily.

Sophie followed him through the house, noticing the impeccably clean tile floors and the pure white walls. She always felt strange being at someone else’s place, but here the feeling was even stronger. There was a certain...  _ emptiness _ everywhere that she couldn’t quite pinpoint.

“I’m not the first one here… am I?” Sophie asked.

Rafal shook his head. “You’re actually the last one to arrive. Agatha and Rhian showed up together a few minutes ago,” he informed.

Sophie sighed in relief.

Rafal finally led her into a room: it had baby blue walls, two bookshelves lined up against the walls, and there was a chair and a desk —presumably Rafal’s— by the window. There seemed to be no other seating available: Agatha and Rhian sat on the floor, with the blank board between them. When Sophie walked into the crowded space, they looked up from it, making eye-contact. Agatha nodded curtly, while Rhian gave her an awkward little wave.

Sophie had never felt more uneasy in her life.

“Well, now that we’re all here,” Rafal said, “I guess we can start this up.”

“Yeah, we could — but  _ someone _ forgot to buy the paint for the board,” Agatha said, eyeing Rhian with annoyance. Rhian looked down sheepishly.

“Why didn’t you get it on the way?” Sophie asked, rolling her eyes.

“I only realized it when we were five minutes away…,” explained Rhian quietly.

Rafal sighed. “We can always start with the playing cards. We do need like, a hundred of them,” he pointed out.

And in that moment, Sophie had an idea. An idea to make her whole situation a  _ little _ more bearable.

“I can run to the store and buy what we need,” she blurted quickly. “I mean, we  _ should _ start the board as soon as possible.”

The other three looked around at each other, considering her plan.

“It  _ does _ sound like the best idea…,” Rafal mused. “The board is the most important part.”

“And it needs to look really good,” added Agatha.

“So it’s settled then,” Sophie decided, already backing towards the door. “I’ll go get the stuff we need, and you can get a headstart on the…uh, cards?”

“Wait,” said someone.

Rhian stood up, all eyes turning to him.

“Um. Do you mind if I go too?” he wondered. Sophie raised her eyebrows, surprised — but before she could answer he went on: “I mean, it’s kind of my fault you have to go.”

She paused, hesitant. She didn’t  _ mind _ Rhian... she was just astonished that someone would willingly go with her, well,  _ anywhere _ . She’d never admit it out loud, though.

“I mean, if you want to,” Sophie responded, shrugging.

Rhian nodded, following Sophie to her car. He was quiet most of the ride, just as she’d expected him to be. Rhian wasn’t exactly known for talking. He simply looked out the window in silence. Sophie stole a few glances at him here and there, but cursed herself every time she did so.

Especially when he caught her.

“What is it?” he asked, frowning worriedly. “Is there something wrong?”

Sophie quickly shook her head. “N-no!” she blurted, a bit too loud. “I mean, I was just wondering...  _ why _ you wanted to come. Like, I mean, you explained why — but I could’ve just gotten the stuff by myself. Really.” Internally, she felt like throwing herself out of the speeding vehicle, hearing herself babble.

“Oh. Well, yeah, I guess I could’ve let you go alone... but that would’ve been rude. I did say I’d get the stuff. I kind of have to keep that promise now,” Rhian said, his eyes on her, while she kept her own on the road.

“I guess that makes sense,” Sophie conceded, carefully avoiding his gaze.

“A better question is why  _ you _ wanted to run errands,” Rhian continued.

Sophie snorted, slipping back into her usual gruff demeanor.

“Isn’t it obvious? I can’t deal with Rafal and Agatha at once for such a long time. I know she’s your cousin but… I can’t stand her. No offense,” she added quickly.

Surprisingly, she heard Rhian laugh. Sophie turned to look at him, trying to restrain herself from grinning.

“None taken,” Rhian reassured. “I love Agatha, but I guess I can understand your point.”

“Why?” She asked, curiosity filling her.

“I don’t know... You two are just like, polar opposites,” Rhian answered, shrugging.

Sophie silently agreed, knowing there was a bit more to her hate towards Agatha. But that wasn’t something to share right then.

Eventually, they arrived to the craft store. Sophie tried to stall as much as possible by asking if they had everything they needed, or by comparing two types of paint for too long (even though she knew  _ nothing _ about it), and especially by looking at random crap they definitely didn’t need.

“Uh... Are you  _ sure _ we need glitter?” Rhian questioned, eyeing the needlessly large container of multicolored sparkles.

“Well…,” Sophie began, unsure herself. “Not really? But it  _ could _ help enhance the board and make it stand out.”

Rhian shot her a skeptical glance — then shrugged and accepted it. 

Sophie didn’t even like glitter, but what she  _ did _ like wasting time to avoid certain people.

After paying for the stuff at the end of their semi-awkward supply run, Sophie drove back to Rafal’s house, Rhian cradling the plastic bag of assorted goods.

“Sorry for, you know, forgetting to do this beforehand and making you drive us all the way here,” he mumbled, halfway through their journey.

Sophie, a little unused to apologies, felt a slight heat rise in her cheeks.

She waved him away dismissively. “It’s no big deal. I got to stall and get rid of the other two for a while…  _ Please _ don’t tell them I said that. I would  _ never _ hear the end of it if Rafal found out.”

Rhian laughed. Sophie found herself smiling softly at the sound.

“It’s all good. I _ did _ get out of doing work…,” Rhian mused.

“Are you sure you didn’t forget on  _ purpose _ ?” teased Sophie.

“Of course not!” Rhian replied, a bit scandalized. “But it’s Saturday; does  _ anyone _ really want to be doing this?”

Sophie snorted. “I sure as  _ hell _ don’t.”

When they got back to Rafal’s house, he and Agatha were already working on some of the cards for Ms. Dovey’s project. It looked like they hadn’t made a lot of progress.

“This project sucks,” complained Rafal. “She wants 25 cards with questions about their culture, and we currently have five.  _ Five _ .”

“Impressive,” Sophie mocked, tossing the bag of supplies on the floor, “but we’re not going to get anywhere if we don’t get working on the actual board. Will she actually care that much about the other parts of the game?”

“Probably,” sighed Agatha. “You know Ms. Dovey: she looks at  _ every _ tiny detail.”

“I say we split up the work,” Sophie suggested, earning curious looks from everyone. “You two can keep doing cards, and Rhian and me can start laying the foundations for the board. Well,  _ I’ll _ make cards while  _ Rhian _ paints the board.”

“Wow. Is this Sophie Jones… being _ productive _ ?” Rafal mocked, smirking.

“Don’t push it, Blackburn,” Sophie warned, glaring at him.

His smile evaporated.

“Painting the board does sound like a priority. I’ll get to it,” Rhian chimed in.

The four of them worked diligently — well, as diligently as they  _ could _ , with all the arguing. The minute attention to detail that they needed was also slowing them down.

“Wait a minute. I just realized something,” one of them said suddenly.

They all turned to the speaker.

“If this is due in three weeks,” Agatha began slowly, “that means we should probably finish by next week — because I don’t think anyone wants to meet during the weekend of Homecoming. More specifically: the day of the dance.”

“Crap, you’re right. We’ll be busy decorating the gym that day,” Rafal remembered, rubbing his temples.

“Do you  _ always _ need to be involved in  _ everything _ ?” Sophie groaned. “Your schedule  _ really _ gets in the way of this.”

“Well — I’m  _ sorry _ not everything revolves around  _ your _ convenience,” Agatha snapped back, “and I’m  _ sorry _ we’re trying to make  _ your _ Homecoming  _ fun _ .”

“I don’t even give a  _ fuck _ about Homecoming,” Sophie sneered.

“Hey,  _ relax _ . We just need to meet next week, or figure out something else. We can get it done in time…hopefully  _ without _ killing each other,” Rhian said, glancing at his partners. The girls just glared at each other.

“Rhian’s right,” Rafal agreed. “We just need to plan around everyone’s schedule. Is there anyone that can’t make it on certain days?”

“I have cheer practice like, every day this week — but seeing as my coach is  _ also _ my aunt, I’ll try to convince her to let me off the hook for at least  _ once _ ,” Agatha offered.

“Couldn’t you have done that  _ yesterday _ ?” Sophie questioned dryly.

Agatha sighed, exasperated.

“I need to be on my aunt’s good graces because I might need a day off during Homecoming Week. I know it sounds selfish — but I mean, it could go towards this project instead.”

“Wow, thank you  _ so much _ for your generosity, oh benevolent Agatha! You’re  _ such _ a team player!” Sophie squealed sarcastically.

Agatha was about to shoot back another retort, but Rafal cut her off.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but, we might have to split up to finish it,” he announced.

Sophie shot him a questioning look, while Agatha and Rhian’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean? I thought that’s what we’re doing right now,” Agatha said.

“No, like,  _ actually _ break into twos and divide and conquer,” Rafal replied, facing Agatha. “Look, you and I are fully booked these weeks. Especially you. Even though —ideally— we would all work on the board, it sounds like it’ll be physically impossible to schedule something efficiently.”

“So you’re saying neither of you can work on it… which leaves me and Rhian alone,” Sophie concluded, getting more annoyed by the second. “Do you just want  _ us _ to do  _ all _ the work?”

“ _ God _ no,” said Rafal, horrified. “Trust me: I don’t like leaving you the board since it’s  _ my _ grade too… but it sounds like you two will be able to get more done on your own.” He looked thoroughly unhappy admitting that.

“Wow, is this Rafal Blackburn… having to  _ trust me _ ?” Sophie taunted, smirking evilly.

Rafal glared at her.

“Not at  _ all _ ,” he insisted, then turned to Rhian. “I’m trusting  _ you _ to fix anything that goes wrong.”

“I mean, I’m pretty sure it’ll be fine,” Rhian said.

“Oh come on, Rafal. It’s  _ my _ grade too. I’m not going to shoot myself in the foot.” Sophie rolled her eyes. “Anyway, are you and Agatha going to do the cards and the other stuff?”

“Well, it sure looks like it, doesn’t it?” the other girl said, crossing her arms. She sounded displeased at Rafal’s sudden decisions... Sophie smirked to herself, amused at the possibility.

“I mean, it’s the best route around our schedules,” Rafal offered.

Agatha sighed, her shoulders sagging in defeat. “Well…yeah. We just need to see what each of us is doing. And figure out how our ‘game’ will be played, since we need to type up directions.”

“At least we made  _ some _ progress today,” Rhian offered weakly, but it fell on deaf ears.

Shortly afterwards, it was time to put away their things and start heading out. Rafal apologized about having to change their game plan, but Sophie ignored it: partly because she had to do a lot for the board; partly because she was happy about not really having to see him and Agatha as much.

Not wanting to deal with the project after leaving, Sophie decided to approach Rhian before she headed home. She tapped him on the shoulder and the boy nearly jumped. Sophie rolled her eyes at his jumpiness, and chuckled.

“Relax, it’s just me,” she said. “Well, maybe that’s why you jumped. anyway, I don’t know about you but I want to get this over quickly. Do you wanna meet Monday after school and just try and finish as much as we can?”

Rhian seemed to think about it for a few seconds.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” he decided. “I was just trying to remember if I had anything to do. I usually stay after school in my mom’s room. Do you just want to meet  _ there _ ?”

Sophie nodded. “We should’ve done this since the beginning, ugh.  _ Don’t _ forget the board on Monday,” she teasingly warned. “Unlike the supplies, I would mind you forgot  _ that _ .”

Rhian grinned sheepishly in return. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll be sure to have everything on Monday…I swear,” he assured.

“You’re good. Guess I’ll see you around,” Sophie said, taking out her car keys out of her pocket, waving Rhian goodbye, and starting the drive home.

She was… unexpectedly satisfied with today’s outcome. It looked like they had laid down the foundations for the project, and Rafal had actually come up with a solution to her problems.

Damn. That was one for the books.

(But she’d never tell him that — his ego would shoot through the roof.)

Even if she felt she was responsible for the biggest piece of the work, she didn’t worry too much. Especially since this time she  _ actually _ had a partner she like.

That was a surprise —a nd usually, she didn’t  _ like _ surprises.

But this one wasn’t too bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that was ch. 7. I think it'll be the last of my updates for a few days though, because I'm working on chapter 8 but I'm kinda blocked rn :/


	8. VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! Long time coming but I finally got this new chapter up! Special thanks to Aris as always for polishing this up and making it better!

VIII

Sophie

 

"So you’re telling me you _somehow_ got out of working with Rafal and Agatha?” Kiko Nakamura asked in disbelief, a hint of a smirk creeping across her face.

“Hell yeah, honey," Sophie replied with a devious smirk of her own. She had spent the weekend marveling at her luck—she still struggled to believe their new deal—but she had waited until Monday to tell her best friends about it.

Kiko cackled. “You’re one lucky fucker, Sophie,” she rasped.

“Yeah," Yara Lovelace chimed. She shook her head in amazement, chuckling. "If that was me, I would’ve had to put up with everyone’s attitude."

The trio stood under the school’s bleachers, basking in the cool shade they offered. The three girls despised the cafeteria, and had taken the bleachers as their lunchtime spot ever since they'd met.

“Hey, maybe there _is_ someone up there looking out for me… even though I’m a little shit,” Sophie snarked.

Kiko eyed her.

“More like a giant pain in everyone’s ass,” she corrected tauntingly.

Sophie rolled her eyes and flipped off the girl, who just just laughed harder.

“Oh Lord, I feel bad for Rhian,” Yara teased, taking a sip of her soda. “That poor boy has to put up with _you_.”

“I’ll have you know that Rhian _actually_ seems to tolerate _and_ almost fear me. That’s like, the _dream_ ,” Sophie bragged.

“Wow, you’re right,” Yara conceded sarcastically. “That _is_ quite the accomplishment for you.”

“Oh, come on, Yara. Sophie had to get _one_ full person to like her. That’s very hard for her,” Kiko mocked. Sophie whacked her arm, but Kiko simply guffawed.

“You’re clearly confused. I’m a _pleasure_ ,” Sophie joked, placing a hand over her heart dramatically.

“I bet that’s what Rafal tells himself when he looks in the mirror,” Kiko snorted, earning laughs from the other girls.

“God, yeah,” Sophie agreed. “He’s _such_ a loser.”

“You know, I never thought we would reach the day when even Rafal Blackburn would screw up the set up of a group project—but he did, all thanks to you. You outdid yourself, Soph,” Yara complimented.

“ _Please_ ,” Sophie dismissed. “It was ‘because of their schedules’… Like—not even kidding—they have so much stupid shit to do; it’s _exhausting_ to be with them.”

“So what now? Are you and Rhian meeting today?” Yara asked.

Sophie nodded. “Yeah, he said to meet in his mom’s room later which will be...” She trailed off, finding the right word. Ms. Evelyn Sader and her were on… interesting terms. Sophie didn’t dislike her, but she had argued with her in class one too many times.

“Strange,” she settled, “to say the least.”

“I don’t know how Rafal is trusting you with the board. I would’ve thought he’d partner with _you_ to make sure you didn’t mess anything up,” Kiko teased.

Sophie shrugged but grinned proudly. “He hates being around me more than he doesn’t trust me—which is more than fine.”

“Okay,” Yara said, “but you and Rhian are like, on opposite ends of the spectrum: _you_ piss everyone off, and _he’s_ kind of a people-pleasing doormat.”

Sophie snorted. “I mean, he _did_ help us _not_ kill each other… but I don’t know if he’s actually a doormat. And I can’t really trash the _one_ person in this project that doesn’t hate me.”

“Smart, really,” Yara said, earning a smile.

“I only have good ideas,” Sophie bragged.

Kiko looked at Yara. Yara looked at Kiko.

They looked back at Sophie with raised eyebrows.

But—surprisingly—they dropped it.

 

* * *

 

.

Sophie’s day progressed as usual, but she hadn’t been sure how to feel about having to stay overtime for a project. Even if she only had to work with Rhian.

When the bell dismissed the history class after last period, Sophie didn’t really know what to do. Rhian had asked if they could meet in Ms. Sader’s room, which was fine and all—but Sophie didn’t feel like awkwardly lingering in a classroom with the only company being her history teacher.

Sophie decided she should probably just probably head out and wait for him to show up, but as she quietly began to head out, Ms. Sader spoke:

“I thought you were supposed to stay here.”

Sophie stopped in her tracks. She turned around to face her teacher.

“How do you know that?” she questioned, frowning.

“Because Rhian told me he’d come here, and I asked him who he was working with,” Ms. Sader replied matter-of-factly.

Sophie nodded mutely, getting her phone out and texting Rhian. Might as well let him know she was already there. She quietly stood by the door, waiting for him to show up. At least Ms. Sader didn’t seem to mind her there: the woman quietly marked some papers as Sophie waited.

“Are you grading our quizzes?” Sophie blurted.

“Yes,” the teacher said, without looking up. “I should be getting to yours soon. I don’t think you should worry too much, though: it’s probably as good as always.”

Sophie grinned, a little relieved. As much as she was deemed a troublemaker, she couldn’t help caring about her grades even if she tended to be problematic for teachers.

Then she heard a knock on the door, turning to see Rhian standing there.

“Sorry I took so long. I was coming from physics,” her groupmate explained as she let him in, “and you know that’s on the other side of the school—and _first_ I had to go to my locker and get the board and _then_ come here.”

“It’s fine, really,” Sophie said dismissively,taking the now-painted board and looking it over. “I brought the scissors, so we can start cutting up the paper for the spaces.”

“Sounds good,” Rhian said. He gave his mom a quick greeting, which she returned, sparing a glance and a small smile.

“Do you know if she’s scoring our tests, by any chance?” Rhian asked Sophie quietly, as they finished laying out their materials and got to work.

“Huh?” Sophie replied, in the middle of cutting construction paper. “Oh, I mean—yeah, she is.”

“Oh damn. You know… I kind of feel like I botched that one,” Rhian confessed.

Sophie looked up at him, surprised. “Shouldn’t you be acing the class your _mom_ teaches?” she teased. Rhian grinned sheepishly.

“I probably should, but... I didn’t study a lot for it,” he whispered, eyeing his mom carefully.

Sophie snorted, lowering her voice too. “If one of _my_ parents was a teacher, though? I’d probably find my way to a cheat sheet.”

“…Really? Actually: ignore it,” Rhian chuckled.

“I’m a sneaky child and _everyone_ knows that.” Sophie smirked—but quickly remembered something.

“Hey, did you bring glue?” she wondered. “I’m not about to cut over a hundred pieces of paper to not glue them.”

“Yeah, it’s right there—” Rhian pointed to the bottle “—I wasn’t about to forget anything... again.”

Sophie rolled her eyes.

The two kept working on the board silent, the painstaking process of trying to cut and paste 150 tiny squares for their project (Sophie still couldn’t believe they needed that many) starting to hurt their wrists.

Sophie was actually surprised at how smooth everything had gone today. ‘ _It’s because Rafal and Agatha aren’t here_ ,’ she decided privately, supressing an eyeroll.

She put down her scissors and shook her sore hand, wincing a little. “Are we done yet?”

“Almost: we’re only at 133,” Rhian replied, gluing down more pieces of paper.

“This fucking project; I swear to _God_ …,” Sophie muttered.

“Do you think we’ll be done today?” Rhian asked, a hint of hopefulness in his tone. Sophie felt a twinge of guilt for having to crush it.

“Not really… We still have to add all the stuff from Beowulf’s journey, or else we won’t get full credit,” Sophie reminded.

Rhian sighed loudly.

“You’re right. I don’t even _remember_ his journey—probably ‘cause I didn’t read the book,” he admitted.

“You didn’t miss out on much, really—but yeah… I don’t even know how to incorporate half of it, because he literally fights like, a dragon and a fucking... ‘ _worm_ ’,” Sophie complained.

“A _worm_?” questioned Rhian.

Sophie shrugged. “It’s what the book said.”

“Huh…” Rhian perked up suddenly. “Oh! Maybe we can get a dragon figurine and glue them on there and call them Grendel or whatever.”

Sophie couldn’t restrain her laughter. “Where do they even _sell_ those? Look: great idea and all—but are those even a _thing_?”.

“I don’t see why _not_ ,” Rhian argued. “I mean, dinosaurs kinda have figurines. Sort of.”

“So, Mr. Figurine Expert, I’ll ask again: _where_ would we get those?” Sophie couldn’t really believe this discourse was for a school project.

“I say we just go to the same store from the other day. They have to have it,” Rhian pressed.

“And if they have them… one of us is going to have to get them? Like, I’ll have to look a cashier dead in the eyes as I hand them the cash for a teeny toy dragon?” Sophie asked, incredulous. Rhian chuckled.

“I mean, I never said you’d be the one paying but if you want to…” Rhian trailed off.

“Fine,” Sophie agreed, crossing her arms. “ _If_ they have them, _then_ I’ll get them…We only need one anyway.”

“What happened to making the board different?” Rhian chuckled. “You _sure_ seemed insistent about it when you grabbed two tubes of glitter we didn’t even need,” he recalled.

“We can just dump them over the Grendel spot and make it look more supernatural or some shit like that. It has a purpose,” Sophie lied.

Rhian rolled his eyes at her.

She raised an eyebrow at him—all the threatening she needed—and sure enough, he looked away from her.

“So I’m assuming we’ll be going to get that…soon?” Rhian asked instead.

“I guess, unless you’re too busy to do it,” Sophie replied. “Or I could just do it on my own.”

“No, I’ll go. I like looking at all the weird stuff they have in there,” Rhian admitted.

“As you wish,” Sophie said, shrugging with a small smile.

 

* * *

 

“Holy shit…,” Sophie marveled, as she looked at an entire section of a shelf of dragon figurines. “They _do_ sell them.”

Rhian stood next to her as she stared at them. “I told you: they sell _everything_ in here.”

After spending way too much time on cutting and gluing construction paper, Sophie and Rhian called it quits for that day, and decided to meet on Thursday and run to the supply store after school.

It hadn’t been bad—except for the fact that Sophie kept losing sight of Rhian because he’d get distracted by something about every two aisles. She eventually got tired of it, decided to grab Rhian by the sleeve, and drag him along until he begrudgingly showed her where he thought the stuff they needed would be.

Sophie reluctantly grabbed one of the dragons, turning it over in her hands. It had surprisingly good molding for such a small figure.

“Wait, should we buy tiny sailboats?” Rhian asked. “Maybe we could use them as the playing pieces.”

“I mean, we probably should… God this fucking project,” Sophie groaned for about the fiftieth time as she stomped her way through the aisles of the store.

After spending too much time checking they had everything, the pair finally made their way to the cashier. She definitely almost died of embarrassment when paying the dragon, while Rhian stifled his laughter. Sophie didn’t like him too much at that moment.

“I can’t believe I bought that… and I can’t believe you actually wanted to come,” she told Rhian as they walked out the store.

He simply shrugged. “I know you’ll _probably_ want to kill me for saying this, but... I thought it’d be funny to see your reaction,” he admitted, carefully avoiding her gaze.

Sophie’s glare scorched him for a moment. “I don’t know if I’d say _kill_ —but I’d definitely punch you at the least.”

“I figured as much…,” Rhian mumbled.

Then another train of thought took him: “I kind of wish I just had to do the cards.”

Sophie rolled her eyes but agreed.

“Not to be dramatic—but this is literally both Rafal and Agatha’s faults. Especially Agatha’s. I mean, she was all like: ‘But I have _practice_ , and _meetings_ , and all of this stuff no one but _me_ cares about!’” Sophie mocked, making her voice a high squeal.

She heard Rhian snicker.

“Am I _wrong_?” Sophie challenged.

“I just never thought your voice could get that high-pitched,” Rhian replied, laughing quietly. 

Sophie rolled her eyes, but Rhian spoke again: “Also, I just remembered. Rafal had asked me if it’d be fine if he took a look at the board today, so we probably should be there to… explain the other stuff we’ll need to add on.”

“Of course Mr. Perfection will want to judge our efforts,” groaned Sophie.

“I mean, it’s not like we have anything to hide…and it kind of is _his_ project too, I guess,” Rhian quietly reasoned, earning an irritated look from Sophie.

“Could’ve told me _earlier_ ,” Sophie accused, glaring at him.

Rhian looked away, his cheeks coloring. “I forgot.”

Sophie sighed, exasperated.

“Of _course_ you did.”

 

* * *

 

 Leaving school and then coming back sucked, but not finishing the damn game board _also_ sucked—so Sophie decided to settle for ending this thing today. She and Rhian walked down the vacant school hallways, but as they were making their way to the History room, Sophie noticed Rafal standing outside, calmly scrolling through his phone.

Oh joy. Someone had come to supervise.

“Oh, there you are,” Rafal said, then frowned. “Where were you?”

After earning the responses of “At the supply store,” and “None of your business,” Rafal glared at Sophie and directed his gaze towards Rhian. He probably decided he’d get a straight answer from the other boy.

“So why did you go now? I mean, wouldn’t it been easier to go before you guys met up?” Rafal spoke.

“Man, someone is curious today, isn’t he?” Sophie snarked.

Rafal sighed in exasperation, while Rhian knocked on the classroom’s door.

“Well, _someone’s_ very defensive today. Especially for someone who just went to the ‘ _supply store_ ’,” Rafal retorted dryly. Sophie narrowed her eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she challenged—but before she could get a reply, Ms. Sader opened the door and all three hurried inside, ignoring whatever had been said.

“Okay so,” Rhian told Rafal, showing off the board, “that’s what we have so far. We still have to glue some other stuff, but we’ll be done by today.”

“Wow, that looks _really_ nice. I’m surprised Sophie helped at all,” Rafal taunted, smirking. Sophie hit him on the arm, making him yelp.

“Anything else you wanna add or do you want to lose some teeth today, Rafal?” Sophie asked, her glare burning into Rafal’s eyes. He rubbed his neck, while Rhian cleared his throat.

“Yeah, Sophie was a great partner. Very helpful; very uh…cooperative,” Rhian added, trying to divert the tension.

Sophie blushed slightly, while Rafal just quirked his eyebrow.

“I think I believe in miracles now…,” he mumbled. Sophie rolled her eyes but said nothing.

“Anyway, Agatha and I are pretty much done. She just has to print the directions, but we have all the cards, the dice and the figurines,” Rafal informed.

“Oh yeah? Well why isn’t the Princess here?” Sophie snarked. Rafal sighed.

“She had to go and get some stuff for the dance decorations. Agatha has been working very diligently…like you have been. _Apparently_ ,” Rafal said dryly.

“The board is almost done and Rhian just confirmed I had helped, so I would really shove that ‘apparently’ up your—”

“A reminder that I’m still here and I can hear you, so I would watch my language if I were you, Sophie,” Ms. Sader called from the front of the room.

Sophie muttered an apology, while Rafal snickered.

“Anyway, we’ll keep the board here until the due date, I guess,” Rhian said.

“Sounds fair,” Rafal agreed. “I just wondered what the board looked like, so that’s why I decided to come and see it. I guess I’ll go now.” He took off, leaving the other two with the board.

“So, do you want to glue down Grendel and call it a day?” Sophie asked Rhian, holding up the bag from the store.

He grinned. “Please.”

They finished shortly afterwards. Sophie couldn’t actually believe the thing was done; she had to to admit it looked fine. As she was packing up her stuff, a questioned popped into her head:

“Hey, Rhian... Did you _actually_ think I was a good group partner?”

Rhian looked up from his stuff and nodded.

“Yeah,” He said, then frowned, “Why would I say something I didn’t mean?”

“Never mind… I just… was wondering. It’s not a popular opinion,” Sophie chuckled mirthlessly.

“I thought you were pretty helpful…and kind of fun. Maybe it was all the times you cursed this project; I don’t know. I thought that was funny,” Rhian admitted, and Sophie snorted.

“It deserved it,” she grinned.

“What about me? Was I a good partner?” Rhian asked her curiously.

“Well…you were ‘ _okay_ ’,” Sophie teased. Rhian laughed. Sophie couldn’t help but laugh too.

“Hey, if Sophie Jones says I’m okay… I’m pretty much golden,” Rhian said.

“Yeah…you really should be,” Sophie agreed, grinning.

“I can’t believe we actually finished it, and we finished it early too. We didn’t even run into Homecoming Week,” Rhian observed.

“Why was everyone so worried about running into Homecoming, anyway? I mean, fine: Agatha and Rafal had the entire Council thing—but did _you_ actually wanna do stuff after school during the week or something?” Sophie questioned, but Rhian just shrugged.

“Eh... I guess it’s more of a mentality thing. I just never wanna do anything during Homecoming. It’s like, my brain knows I’m supposed to be having fun… even though the most I do is tag along with Kei for the football game because he takes pictures.”

“That’s kind of a dumb answer but, I guess I’ll have to take it.” Sophie sighed loudly.

“Do you just not care about it?” Rhian asked her.

It was Sophie’s turn to shrug. “I only care about the dress out days. Besides, the one time I went to one of the ‘festivities’ I almost got suspended…”

Rhian widened his eyes. “Wait, _what_?” he asked.

“That’s a long story for another day…” Sophie grinned. “Because this teen delinquent has gotta go now: she should be studying for Pre-Calc—not telling you an anecdote.”

Rhian just stared at her, dumbfounded, as she sashayed out of the room. First she’d gotten out of working with her nemeses, then she _finally_ finished that shitshow of a project—maybe there _was_ someone looking out for her after all.

What a nice thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so that was that...yeah, I realize that a lot of this was...kinda dumb and comic relief, but hey, sometimes we need that. Also, I definitely wanted to introduce Sophie's friends hence why we have that opening scene.
> 
> Leave me a comment or a kudos if you liked it!


	9. IX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with another one! Thanks to Aris cause not only did he edit but did all of it today dang!
> 
> Hope you guys like this :)

IX

_ Rafal _

 

 Rafal was already pleased with Homecoming Week, and it was only Tuesday.

Today’s dress-out theme was “Pop vs. Rock”, so the hallways were filled with students wearing leather jackets, combat boots or some other trendy outfit trying to follow the idea. Rafal was glad people in his grade were  _ actually _ participating — especially since last year’s was a disaster..

But despite the fact he hated when people didn’t dress up for the day, Rafal genuinely considered not doing so . He had  _ no _ idea what to wear, and he was  _ probably _ going to look ridiculous if he tried. But eventually he caved, and started digging through his dad’s old stuff. 

Not fully knowing what he was doing, Rafal simply settled for going all black: an AC/DC tank top, ripped jeans — and just for the hell of it —a red bandanna tied around his head. Needless to say, he felt  _ completely _ out of his element. Especially when he put on his jarringly thick-framed glasses afterwards.

At lunch, the moment Rafal sat down, Hort didn’t  _ hesitate _ to start cracking up.

“Yeah, yeah. As if  _ you  _ look any better in a  _ Metallica _ shirt,” said Rafal morosely.

“I don’t look  _ that _ ridiculous,” Hort replied, once he was done laughing. “I’m sorry. It’s just — ” he started snickering again, Tedros joining in “ —it’s just that  _ not _ seeing you dressed like a nerd? It’s a  _ really  _ rude awakening.”

“All three of you look like you play in London’s underground scene during the 70’s or something,” Beatrix commented.

“So, tell us Madonna,” Tedros teased, recognizing Beatrix’s outfit as one of the singer’s, “when is your next song coming out?”

Beatrix giggled. “When does  _ your _ debut album come out?” she came back. “But seriously though: where did you guys  _ get _ those shirts?”

“Dad,” all three boys replied in complete unison.

Beatrix laughed, and the others joined in.

“Yeah, my dad was  _ more _ than excited to dig out the old Iron Maiden t-shirt and tell me about the time he went to one of their concerts…,” Tedros explained. “I didn’t realize he was  _ into _ all that stuff.”

“It  _ is _ hard to picture your dad at a rock concert,” Hort admitted. “He’s just… such a  _ Dad _ , you know?”

Tedros’s dad, Arthur, sometimes felt like he was  _ everyone’s _ dad: he always asked Tedros about them, and he’d  _ always  _ encourage Tedros to invite them over for a good old barbecued lunch. Rafal couldn’t help but smile at the idea of his friend’s dad rocking out to Iron Maiden.

“He is,” Tedros agreed. “Even if he  _ still _ burns our meals from time to time.”

“Hey, let him make some mistakes. He’s doing his best,” said Rafal, patting Tedros on the shoulder, who just chuckled.

“How did all your dads keep those for so long?” wondered Beatrix. “My parents give out clothes like once a year.”

Hort and Tedros shrugged.

“All I know is it benefitted me…weirdly enough,” Rafal said. “What about you though? Where did you get all of that?”

“Thrift stores were my friends and that’s all I’m saying.” Beatrix grinned. “Now hold still, you guys. I  _ definitely  _ need a picture…”

She took her phone out — but her eyes widened in shock.

“Oh shoot! Lunch is almost over!” she exclaimed, scrambling to get all her stuff and earning confused looks from her friends.

“We have like, 10 more minutes…” Tedros said, clearly bewildered at her sudden rush.

“I told Reena I would give her some of my construction paper for her English project and she needs it for today’s class,” Beatrix explained in a hurry. “But you three  _ still _ need to find me after school for a picture; there’s no way I’m  _ not _ getting this — ” she gestured towards their outfits “ — on camera. Okay, see ya!” And with that, she finally left.

Rafal sighed. “Do we really need to?”

“You  _ know _ she’s going to post it too,” Tedros added.

“I mean, she gets a free pass from me because I annoy her enough,” Hort grinned.

“You annoy all of us — but  _ I _ don’t get a free pass,” Rafal complained, crossing his arms mockingly.

“I’d apologize, but I’d be lying,” Hort admitted, smirking, “but now that Bea’s not here, I have something to ask you two.”

Rafal and Tedros shared a look. That seemed random.

“What is it?” asked Tedros, absentmindedly edging closer to Hort.

“Well, let’s say someone just… wanted to ask her out to the dance. What do you think would be the best way?”

Rafal raised his eyebrows, shocked, but then his lips curled up devilishly.

“I mean, it depends, who’s this ‘someone’?” Tedros asked, frowning.

Rafal patted him on the back. “Man, for someone as smart as you, you can be quite oblivious sometimes,” he snorted.

“Oh…?  _ Oh.  _ Oh my God, I’m stupid,” groaned Tedros, rubbing his temples.

“Yeah, you have your moments,” Hort agreed, laughing. “But anyway, I’ve been thinking about it, and I just don’t really know  _ how _ to — because I want to make a poster and all that, but I don’t know if that’d draw too much attention for her liking.”

“I say do it! I mean, Beatrix is a total  _ sucker _ for that stuff,” Tedros encouraged. “Every time she sees someone asking out a girl with a poster, she sighs dreamily and wishes someone would do that for her.”

“Yeah, and she’d totally appreciate the effort.  _ Especially _ if you make it pretty,” Rafal added.

“Okay, yeah, makes sense. Now I gotta figure out what I’m going to write on it…,” Hort realized.

“I don’t know much about Homecoming proposals — but I know that some people like to make something based off the theme of the dance,” Rafal offered.

“Oh yeah! That’d be nice. The theme is fairy tale stuff isn’t it?” Hort asked Rafal.

“Yeah: ‘Starlight Fairytale’.”

“Gotcha,” Hort said. “Okay, I’ll think of some stuff — but  _ none _ of you can tell her, and I might need your help. Just a bit.”

“When are you actually going to do it, though?” Tedros asked him.

“I feel like I should do it on Thursday — but also, I  _ kind of _ want to do it on Friday to make it more of a surprise,” said Hort.

“Shouldn’t you stick to Thursday? Again, I know this is not my area of expertise, but you don’t want to risk anyone asking her before you,” Rafal pointed out.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll get my stuff tonight and start making it,” Hort smiled. “Dude, Bea is _ not _ going to see this one coming.”

Rafal agreed, because he didn’t see this one coming, either. He knew Hort had a tendency to make impulsive decisions, but this one really took him by surprise.

“And you know she’ll say yes, so that’s nice,” Tedros added.

“Yeah,” Hort agreed. “But you know who would  _ also _ probably say yes, too? Agatha.”

Tedros looked away. “Those are very different situations. I’m just her physics tutor! I-It’d just be weird.”

Hort rolled his eyes.

“Two weeks ago you were  _ just _ her classmate — so I’d say you’re not doing too badly.”

“Yeah…,” Tedros mumbled. “I’ll see if I actually ask her out to Prom — God, that thought is scary.”

“Honestly, I feel like you should’ve been in the same group as her for English. It would’ve been an extra push for you,” Rafal teased. Tedros rolled his eyes.

“I guess it would’ve been nice, but I’m seeing her after school today, so that’s something,” Tedros said, shrugging.

“How convenient! But you’re  _ just _ going to tutor her, aren’t you?” Hort teased.

Tedros looked away again, muttering something inaudible.

“Oh, so I guess  _ that’s _ why Agatha told me she couldn’t hand in her cards today,” Rafal concluded. “She asked  _ me _ to bring them to Sader’s room and put them with the board, but she didn’t elaborate why.”

“Aw, look at that,” Hort snickered. “Agatha favors time with you that much, Teddy.”

Tedros rolled his eyes. “More like she favors not failing physics,” he countered.

“Or both,” Rafal said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Tedros sighed, while the other two laughed.

-

 

Like he’d said earlier, Rafal had planned on taking his cards over to the board. Then, on the day they were due, all they would need to do was bring the board from Ms. Sader’s room to Ms. Dovey’s, and they would be all set. Rafal told Rhian about it, seeing as he was the person that had the most direct access to the board.

He had never pictured Rhian being this responsible, and a part of him also felt a tad strange not being in full control of the project — but he  _ did _ enjoy not having that big of a duty hanging over him.

Maybe he  _ was _ loosening up a bit.

As usual, Rafal walked down the hallways and made his way to Ms. Sader’s room. Weirdly enough, the door had been left half-open. Even stranger, Ms. Sader wasn’t even in her room. Rafal questioned it, but he decided to just peek in and see if her son was in there .

And he was.

But what Rafal was  _ not _ expecting, was to see  _ Sophie _ there too. She casually sat on a desk, talking to Rhian as he sprinkled  _ glitter _ on the board. Rafal hoped there was a good explanation for it.

He simply knocked on the door, making Rhian flinch but look up.

“Hey, I brought the stuff,” Rafal said, patting his bag — then frowned, “but why are you adding that much glitter to the board?”

Rhian and Sophie shared a look, and she grinned, but it was Rhian who spoke.

“Sophie decided we apparently needed it, and since I bought it, I wasn’t going to let it go to waste. I hope you don’t mind our Worm being extra sparkly,” Rhian offered apologetically, a sheepish smile creeping onto his face.

Rafal quirked his eyebrow, but chuckled.

“It looks prettier than expected, but if it works, it works… Let me get out the stuff.”

“Geez Rafal, the amount of arm you’re showing today should be considered indecent exposure,” Sophie taunted.

He glared at her. “Your curly hair should be considered a  _ fashion _ crime,” he retorted, taking out all the stuff and putting it by the board.

“Shouldn’t you be glad I decided to participate in the stupid theme?” Sophie sneered.

“Of  _ course _ you participated: this is literally what you wear all the time, except for the hair and the fishnets — a very  _ bold _ combination if you ask me,” Rafal replied dryly. She just looked like a 80s version of her usual self.

“It doesn’t look bad. Not that I know anything about fashion, really,” Rhian commented.

Sophie blinked in surprise, before muttering an inaudible response. Huh. Apparently, Sophie couldn’t take a compliment without feeling weird.

Rafal rolled his eyes. Of  _ course _ she couldn’t. She’s probably not used to  _ anything _ related to the word “nice”.

“So where are you keeping the board for next week?” Rafal asked Rhian, mentally shifting gears.

“On top of that shelf. Nobody ever goes near it, so it’ll be safe,” Rhian assured.

Rafal nodded. “That’s cool. I like the glitter, actually,” he chuckled.

“I mean, it was  _ my _ idea,” Sophie said, puffing up her chest. Rafal rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I still can’t believe you were serious about it,” Rhian admitted.

Sophie  _ genuinely _ laughed.

Rafal raised his eyebrows, shooting her a curious look. She didn’t even notice it.

“I said it’d look nice. And see, even Rafal agrees,” said Sophie.

Rhian smiled silently, about to say something back — but in that instant, his phone went off. He frowned at it, but picked up.

“Japeth?” he said, then paused, listening to his twin on the other end. “There’s wha — _ okay _ . Yeah, yeah. Hold on, I’m coming.” He put down his phone, pursing his lips as he looked at Rafal. “Do you think you can help me get the board up there? I… gotta go.”

Rafal nodded, easily complying as the brunette walked out of the room. He placed the board on top of the dusty shelf, stepping back to get a clear look at it.

“It looks fine, you dimwit,” Sophie snarked.

Rafal shot her a glare.

“Why are you here?” he finally questioned.

“Who says I owe  _ you _ an explanation?” she sneered. She hopped down from the desk, crossing her arms with a huff. “But if you  _ must _ know, Rhian asked if it was fine to actually use that glitter. Of  _ course _ I said yes, and I came here to use it. That’s  _ all. _ Is that enough for you — _ Boss _ ?”

Rafal ignored the nickname, focusing more on an odd detail ...

“I think what I really got from the story is the fact that you caved so  _ easily _ . I think I should ask Rhian how he managed.”

“By not being a pretentious prick,” Sophie scoffed. “Unlike  _ you. _ ”

“How endearing... Do you like,  _ like _ him or something?” Rafal snorted, in a childish attempt to mess with her.

“Of course not! He’s  _ adequate _ , at- at best,” Sophie spat angrily, crossing her arms.

But Rafal  _ definitely _ noticed the blush spots in her cheeks, and he  _ definitely _ noticed how she didn’t meet his eyes.

Rafal gawked.  _ Oh my God _ .

Before he could open his mouth, Sophie’s hand was already there, keeping it shut.

“Listen to me you little shit,” Sophie growled. “The moment you tell anyone about this is the moment you  _ die _ .  _ Painfully _ . So if I were you, I’d keep my mouth  _ shut _ .” She leaned in close, growing quiet and deadly serious. “Do you understand?”

Rafal nodded slowly.

Sophie let go off him.

Rafal sighed in relief, relaxing instantly.

“I can’t believe I had to touch you.  _ Gross _ ,” Sophie complained, brushing her hands on her skirt.

“And I can’t believe you just admitted you like Rhian,” Rafal smirked. “You know, the best part is that I only  _ half _ meant that.”

“I told you to keep your mouth shut! Ugh, you’re literally the worst person that could’ve found out,” Sophie groaned, clenching her fists.

“Oh come on, I won’t tell anyone — but that doesn’t take away my right to annoy you about it,” he argued, grinning wickedly.

Sophie glared at him fixedly, then took a step forward.

Rafal took an instinctive step back.

She took a deep breath.

His heart pounded in dread. He knew he was a dead man.

“Look,” Sophie started, way calmer than Rafal had expected, “I know bribes and threats are not the best way to deal with you. Unfortunately. So I’ll just have to — I don’t know — ethos my way into this or something...”

She sighed, shuffling uncomfortably. “You  _ know _ I don’t show a lot of feelings besides… anger, or annoyance — but I’m here, I guess, just...  _ asking _ you to not tell. You know what? Fine. I’ll give you the privilege of teasing me about it — but only when no one else sees. But...  _ please _ don’t tell. This is...  _ actually _ a big deal for me.”

Sophie looked up at Rafal, and probably for the first time ever, he didn’t see anger in her eyes — but rather, a hint of  _ fear _ .

Rafal felt a pang of guilt in his stomach.

“I won’t tell. I swear. I promise,” he finally said.

Sophie quirked an eyebrow.

“I  _ promise _ ,” he repeated. “Really.”

“Alright…,” Sophie muttered, her stance shifting back to her old grumpy self. “You better  _ keep _ that promise, Blackburn.”

“I will. I don’t hate you enough to emotionally destroy you, relax,” Rafal said.

Sophie couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

There was a very awkward silence between the two of them for a long while. Rafal decided to break it.

“We should probably go now,” he admitted. “There’s nothing else to do, is there?”

Sophie shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“I’ll just head out now, I guess.”

“Sure.” Sophie rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Rafal grabbed his bag and started to leave, but just as he reached the door, he stopped.

“Hey, Sophie?” he said.

“ _ What _ ?” she spat.

“You may be a jerk, but I mean it: I won’t tell anyone. Believe me.”

It was so quiet Rafal had to look around to make sure Sophie was still there. She looked genuinely stunned, and for a second, she stumbled over her words.

“Oh, uh…yeah. I...  appreciate that. You know what happens if you do,” she blurted, attempting to be scary once again.

Rafal sighed. “Of course I do. And don’t worry, you won’t need the threats this time.”

He felt her eyes on him as he left —but for once, her glare didn’t burn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...that happened.
> 
> I guess you could tell she liked him?? I tried to leave subtle hints but not too subtle that they could be missed?
> 
> And also, I may have tried to draw all of them in their dumb outfits...let me know if you ever wanna see those on my Tumblr lol
> 
> Comment and kudos pls! They're like the best gift!


	10. X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I know is been a long month since I last updated, but both myself and Aris had a lot going on. Hopefully next time it'll be quicker, but in the meantime, enjoy the new chapter!

X

Hort

 

 Hort was pretty sure no one liked Homecoming Week more than he did. It was, hands down, his favorite week of the whole year. He loved all the activities: the dress-outs, the football game, and—of _course_ —the dance.

He had decided to take Rafal’s advice and ask Beatrix to be his date on Thursday, before he had to prepare for the powderpuff cheerleading he’d signed up for. Hort had run over to the supply store on Tuesday and spent the past two days making a sign for Bea. He’d tried his best, and he couldn’t help thinking that what he’d written down was cheesy as hell—but he kind of liked it. Maybe Bea would, too.

Hort arrived at school earlier than usual, just to make sure no one saw his sign as he stuffed it in his locker. He had planned everything out: Tedros would somehow convince Beatrix to go the school’s courtyard, and once she was there, Hort would pop the question. What happened next was up to Bea.

During his classes, Hort’s thoughts were all over the place. They shifted between his proposal, then the cheerleading later that day, then back to Bea. Then Ravan broke into his train of thought during a boring documentary in Spanish,  and what started as an innocent conversation about the day’s big event quickly shifted into Hort’s new… problem?

‘ _ Nah _ ,’ Hort thought, imagining Bea’s eyes lighting up. ‘ _ Definitely not “problem. _ ”’

“You’re  _ seriously _ gonna ask her?” said Ravan, grinning.

Hort smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I even made a sign,” he replied, turning to see if Espada was looking their way, then pulling out his phone to show Ravan a picture.

“Bro, you can’t keep telling me you  _ don’t _ like her,” Ravan teased.

Hort shrugged. “She’s just my best friend and I love her—n-not like that,” he blurted, “but… you know.”

Ravan shot him a skeptical look. “Right…” He chuckled. “You go through this for  _ all _ your gal pals. You’re so deep in your denial.”

Hort sighed. “I’m not,” he insisted. “Just wish me luck or something?”

“You don’t need it: Beatrix will say yes. Anyone can tell you that. You just gotta—”

“Mangal; Scourie—silencio!” Espada called from his desk.

Ravan awkwardly faced the front.

Hort slumped back in his seat.

Ravan wasn’t the first to believe Hort’s feelings for Beatrix went deeper than just friendship, but he should’ve known Hort better than that. It was just a silly rumor shared by the other students in his grade. There was even talk that the  _ reverse _ was true: that  _ Beatrix _ was the one who had a crush on  _ him _ .

As  _ if _ .

He and Beatrix were just  _ friends _ —even if people couldn’t wrap their heads around it.

As soon as the bell rang for lunch, Hort dashed to his locker, hurriedly swapping his books for his sign. He headed towards the courtyard, standing anxiously by the school’s brick walls, just waiting for Tedros to get Beatrix and text—

_ ‘We’re here you should probably show up now.’ _

That was all it took for Hort to come out of hiding. He turned the corner…

And there she was.

Her long blonde hair fell in waves around her shoulders, the sunlight making her locks shine gold. A pastel-colored flower crown was perched on her head, behind a pair of round pink sunglasses that were pushed up to make room for her hands to cover her eyes. Her nose scrunched up adorably like it did when she was confused, her rosy cheeks intensifying as a nervous smile played on her lips.

Thursday’s dress-out theme was Decade Day, and Hort couldn’t help but think Beatrix looked extra-cute as a hippie. The bright, psychedelic top was a step out of her usual style, but she looked really good in it. Honestly, she could probably pull any outfit off, in Hort’s opinion.

Tedros was there too. He kind of looked like a background character from Miami Vice.

A few people were starting to stare at Hort, his sign, and Bea, and he heard a few gasps and hushed murmurs as they put two-and-two together. He just kept his pace steady as he quickly approached his friends, getting a wink from Tedros and grinning back

“Tedros, what’s going on?” Beatrix asked, hands still over her eyes. “You’re definitely in cahoots with Hort and I don’t know if like it.”

Hort couldn’t resist a chance to tease her. “Aw, come on Bea. Don’t you trust me?”

“Hort? Um… Should I...?” Beatrix frowned slightly. “Can I open my eyes now?”

“It’d be a good idea, yeah,” Tedros said.

She lowered her hands. Hort held his breath.

Beatrix’s blue eyes glowed as they swept across his sign: the glittery stickers of a tiara and a glass slipper, a small drawing of a black-haired boy and a blonde girl waltzing—and the words.

Hort had spent ages thinking them up, and ages more figuring out the swirling, looping calligraphy.  _ “A starlit dance wouldn’t be complete without a fairytale princess,” _ they read.  _ “Would you be mine? _ ”

Beatrix gasped, her surprise turning into something Hort hoped was excitement. “Hold on… You’re- are you asking  _ me _ ?” she asked breathlessly, hands clamped over her mouth.

“Yeah,” Hort replied dumbly. “I sure am. What do you say, Bea?”

Beatrix nodded vehemently. Then she started giggling, unable to stop, and Hort found himself laughing too.

“ _ Yes _ !” she squealed, bouncing up and down. “Of  _ course _ I would, you big dummy!” As soon as he put down his sign, she ran into his arms and hugged him. He hugged her back just as tightly, a huge goofy grin on his face. 

“Did you like what I wrote?” Hort asked sheepishly.

Beatrix beamed at him, her arms still laced around his torso. “I thought it was cute. I liked the drawing you did.”

“Alright!” Tedros cut in. Hort nearly forgot he was there in the first place. “Now that that’s over, do you two wanna take a picture? That’s what usually happens, right?”

“Oh! Yes please!” Beatrix exclaimed, still giddy with excitement. “I’ve never been asked out like this before; I just…” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear bashfully, looking up at Hort. “I really want this to be immortalized in some way.”

Tedros nodded, calling over to someone behind him: “You can come out now!”

Rafal walked up to the three of them, holding his phone like he’d just finished taking a video.

“Wait, where were you?” Beatrix asked.

“Just a few feet away,” Rafal replied. “I may or may not have filmed the entire thing in case you wanted it. Anyway, are you two ready?” It felt like Rafal took more time than needed, but at least he took some good photos. Hort and Beatrix thanked him for doing so, but Rafal insisted it was no big deal.

“Well, I guess that won’t be the last picture you’ll take today,” Tedros teased Beatrix.

“Um, yeah!” she admitted. “But forget that—I can’t believe me you  _ tricked _ me into this!”

“Hey, I had to do it for my man, Hort,” protested Tedros. “Besides, you got a date out of it!”

“I mean, true. You three really just made it really sweet,” Beatrix said. “Like, yeah, it was  _ Hort’s _ idea—but you all kinda chipped in.”

“Anything for you, Bea,” Hort grinned. She blushed delicately and giggled.

“Well, now that it’s over,” Rafal laughed, “we can  _ all _ focus on Hort’s next big event of today: embarrassing himself in front of the school as he dances to Cotton Eyed Joe.”

Hort rolled his eyes. “You’re going to regret laughing when you see it. I’ll have you know the cheer squad prepared all four of us guys  _ very _ well.”

“I sure  _ hope _ so,” Rafal scoffed—then cracked up, the rest unable to help joining in.

Moments like these made Hort’s life seem a thousand times better.

 

-

 

While Thursday’s cheerleading had been a great success among students (like Hort had predicted), Friday only brought even more excitement with its big event: the football game.

Of course, Hort  _ had _ to go. He always had the most fun then, even if their school lost. Besides, he had to see Ravan.

Hort, as always, dragged his friends into coming—even Rafal, who was weirdly hesitant about going. Beatrix happily agreed; Tedros would be there anyway, seeing as he joined Sports Medicine. The club was just there to keep watch for injuries during the game.

When the bell rang, Tedros had to head out to meet up with his club, while Rafal needed to stay back and decorate the gym. That left Hort and Beatrix on their own. The two decided to hang out in Hort’s car: it was too early to head out to the field, and they were feeling a little lazy.

“You’ll just pick me up at my place tomorrow, right?” Beatrix confirmed. “I know I already asked you, but…”

“Yeah, I will,” said Hort, “and your folks know me already, so it shouldn’t take long—unless they wanna get pictures.”

“They probably will. My parents were really surprised that someone  _ actually  _ asked me.” Beatrix gave him a small smile and shrugged. “I mean, I get it—but they didn’t need to ask me if I was sure…”

“ _ Ouch _ . That’s kind of mean.”

“Yeah, I’ll say… But, why  _ did _ you do it? You could’ve asked any other girl you knew,” Beatrix said. “I’m pretty sure a lot of girls would say yes to  _ you _ .”

Hort shrugged and gave her a crooked smile. “I could’ve. But I wanted to go with my best friend.”

Her cheeks pinked. “I guess I’ll have to make sure I look extra pretty tomorrow night, seeing as I have a date and all.”

“Like  _ that’d _ be hard.”

Beatrix giggled, avoiding his gaze. “You’re too kind.” Then she blinked, peeking out the window. “I think we can head over to the field now.”

Hort followed her gaze, seeing the crowd form outside. “Yeah,” he said. “I think so too.”

They hopped out of the car, spotting Rafal’s white hair like a bright beacon. He waved them over to a few saved seats in the bleachers.

“How’s the gym looking?” Beatrix asked Rafal, as the pair took their seats beside him.

“Straight out of a storybook,” he said. “I’m serious: it looks so nice! I think people will really like it. Agatha helped out a lot with the—”

Hort’s attention was drawn away when he spotted Ravan by the sidelines. He excused himself to go talk to the guy, weaving his way through the slowly-filling seats.

“Lookin’ good, I see,” Hort grinned, patting his friend on the back.

Ravan was wearing a red long-sleeved button-up with black dress pants and his hair tied back in a bun. He shrugged, adjusting the navy-blue sash around his shoulders. “I had to do it. I couldn’t let down my class,” he answered.

“It’s you and Anadil, right? For Homecoming Court,” Hort asked, gesturing to the white title printed on Ravan’s sash.

“Yep. Also,” Ravan added. “I was gonna tell you before Espada interrupted me: I’m having a thing tomorrow at my house. It’s not  _ really _ a party… it’s really more like a get-together before the dance. You want in?”

“That sounds fun,” Hort admitted. “Who else is going?”

“You know, pretty much all the cheerleaders: Willam, Bogden, Vex, Dot—you know, all of them? But you can bring your friends too, if you want. The more the merrier, and all that,” Ravan said.

“Sweet,” said Hort. “I’ll tell them about it. We had plans, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”

“Cool, cool.”

They stared at each other blankly for a moment, figuring out what to say. Maybe a few years ago something like that wouldn’t have happened, back during freshman year. Ravan had been one of Hort’s first friends in high school, but as Hort met Tedros and Rafal, they simply started drifting apart. Nothing bad had really happened: they’d just gotten into different circles—but they weren’t the closest anymore. It was a bummer sometimes. Ravan had always been a fun guy.

“Yeah.” Hort forced himself to find a few more words than that. “I’m always down to hang out, you know that. Especially if it’s a bad or dumb idea.” He smiled, and Ravan smiled back; the awkward atmosphere lifted.

“I think you do that on your own… But yeah, I really hope you make it tomorrow,” said Ravan.

“I’m sure I will,” said Hort. “I hope Bea’s down for going.”

Ravan nodded, but something seemed off about it. He looked a little uncomfortable as he shifted.

Hort raised his eyebrow. “Is something wrong?”

“Uh, not with me. It’s just that... you reminded me of something.” Ravan looked around, and then spoke quietly. “It’s only been a day since you asked out Beatrix to the dance, but people have been talking a bunch of bullshit about that.”

Hort furrowed his eyebrows, confused and a little defensive as he crossed his arms. “What  _ kind _ of bullshit?”

“I dunno, man, but there’s several like… rumors, I guess. That you’re doing it out of pity, because she’s your friend and she could never get a date other than you.” Ravan winced at that. “Or because she’d be an easy yes.  _ Or _ that you two just started dating and this is your way to announce it.”

“That’s  _ obnoxious _ ,” Hort snorted. “Oh my  _ God _ —who comes  _ up  _ with these?” Especially the first one. What kind of—

“I don’t know man, but I figured I’d tell you. I think tomorrow you and Beatrix will be getting a lot of weird, invasive questions so… just be ready,” Ravan warned.

“Like vultures circling around dead animals…” Hort shook his head. “Do you think I should tell Beatrix?”

“Look, I’ve never been in this situation, but I’m pretty sure that it’d be better if she knew what’s up and you clarified told her exactly  _ why _ you asked her out,” Ravan offered. “It sounds like Beatrix is sensitive, so I think you should start by just… making sure those assholes don’t hurt her..”

“Yeah…” Hort sighed. “Man, this sucks so much. Beatrix doesn’t deserve this kind of shit talked about her.”

“I get it.” Ravan’s reassuring smile turned mischievous. “I wouldn’t want people badmouthing my gal.”

“She’s not ‘my gal’,” Hort said, for what felt like the millionth time.

“Oh, I know,” said Ravan with a smirk.

“Whatever, man,” Hort chuckled, waving him off as he headed back to the bleachers. “I’ll see you later.”

On his way back, he felt someone tap his shoulder, turning around to see Tedros.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with your club?” Hort asked.

Tedros flushed. “I saw you walk by and… I might’ve lied and said I was gonna grab a bottle of water.”

“Damn, Tedros Pendragon  _ lying _ ? What is this, Opposite Day?” Hort teased.

“I mean, they don’t need me  _ yet _ …,” muttered Tedros.

As they found their seats by Rafal and Beatrix, Hort told them all about Ravan’s sudden invite to his house. He obtained some mixed replies from his friends, like he’d expected.

“I don’t know, Hort,” Tedros admitted. “I don’t really talk to a lot of those people, and I wouldn’t want to make you feel awkward.”

“You won’t! Besides, it’s not like I  _ won’t _ hang out with you three,” Hort said, but Tedros still looked hesitant.

“I’ll go. It sounds fun,” Rafal said, surprisingly.

“Alright, that’s one. How about you, Bea?” Hort asked.

She looked unsure, just like Tedros. “I mean, I’m your _date_ … so I guess it’d be weird if I _didn’t_ go with you… Even though I’d feel a bit out of place…”

“Aw, come on, it won’t be as fun if you two don’t go,” Hort pleaded.

The awkward blondes shared a concerned look.

“I’m pretty sure  _ Agatha _ will be there,” Hort coaxed, trying to get Tedros on his side. Maybe if he went, Beatrix would feel more comfortable coming too.

“I mean, I guess I could  _ try _ …,” Tedros said slowly.

Hort smiled brightly at him.

“I guess… I guess I’ll try too,” Beatrix decided.

Hort practically  _ glowed _ .

“Ravan throws some good parties. I’m sure tomorrow will be great,” he assured.

Tedros and Beatrix shared a hesitant look. “I’ll trust you,” the former said.

Tedros stuck around for a few minutes, before he finally decided to  _ actually _ get a water bottle from the concession stand and head back to his club. And as the game went on, Hort kept thinking back to what Ravan had told him.

He just  _ hated _ how he couldn’t even ask out his friend without having people think that they could have a say about it. And he should probably fill in Beatrix on the nasty little rumors. After all, he’d be  _ crushed _ if she thought he just asked her for the wrong reasons. Beatrix was too sweet to be the subject of such lies.

As he headed to concession stand to get nachos with Rafal and Beatrix, he shook off the thoughts as best as he could. He could think about it later.

After all, he should be enjoying himself.

Not worrying about stuff that wasn’t even relevant.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this was definitely mostly a Hort/Beatrix and the next chapter will too, so hopefully y'all like my dorks a lot lol cause they're staying.
> 
> Im v excited to know what you though so let me know in the comments!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Finally made it back with an update and I hope you enjoy it a lot! This is for all my Bea fans out there ;)))

 XI

Beatrix

 

 

Beatrix had always been a fan of the Homecoming dance.

 

But getting ready for it, on the other hand…

 

Beatrix groaned, reaching for another makeup-removing wipe. She’d never tried doing her own makeup before, and she struggled to keep up with the Youtube tutorials.

 

The blush and mascara she could handle—if only because she wasn’t putting on too much—but she’d been fussing over her lavender eyeshadow the most, trying to get it down perfect.

 

Any other day, her makeup wouldn’t have mattered much to her: she usually never wore it. But Beatrix knew the circles Ravan hung out with, and she didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb. It sounded lame, but she always felt a bit intimidated by the popular crowd. Although they weren’t necessarily _mean_ , Beatrix knew appearance mattered a _lot_ to them, and she didn’t feel like being scrutinized.

 

Beatrix set down her makeup brush and studied herself in the bathroom mirror. She blinked at the girl staring back, her hair silky blonde and half up in braids, her eyelids glittering with eyeshadow, her cheeks rosy, her lips glossy pink…

Princess indeed.

 

Then she looked down at her old t-shirt covered in multicolored makeup smears, and smiled. She should get her dress.

 

It was a deep purple, with a halter top. The body-fitting bodice was covered with lace and lined with small pearls, while the skirt was made up more than a few layers of tulle. Beatrix slipped on her shoes, watching her dress billow as she twirled in front of her mirror until she fell onto her bed, giggling and dizzy.

 

She sighed happily, just as the doorbell rang. Hort was finally here.

 

She wasn’t really sure what having a date was like, or how that night would go. She knew some girls whose dates dumped them in the middle of the dance—but she was _sure_ Hort was nothing like that.

 

Was she just being stupid? Or did other girls worry about this stuff too?

 

Maybe she should just relax. Besides, it was _Hort_ , for crying out loud. It shouldn’t be awkward. They were best friends. It would just be like any other time they went out together. The only difference was that she’d have a corsage on her wrist.

 

She hurried towards the staircase, her heels clicking against the wooden boards, but her mom beat her to the door. Her date walked in holding a small box, looking around as nervously as Beatrix felt, before his eyes raised to the girl at the top of the steps.

 

Beatrix waved, suddenly shy as she made her way down to him. Hort ran his free hand over his slicked-back hair, a bashful grin on his face as he waited.

 

“You look amazing!” Hort said, hugging his friend.

 

Beatrix blushed at his words, thanking him. “You don’t look so bad yourself,” she remarked, helping him straighten his purple tie, the same dark shade as his suit.

 

“Thanks, Bea. Should we get these on?” Hort asked, shaking the little box containing the corsage and the boutonnière.

 

“Oh! Yeah, I guess we should,” Beatrix replied sheepishly.

 

“Hold on, you two! I want some pictures of this,” her mom said, heading upstairs for a camera.

Beatrix sighed. “

 

She’s probably going to take like, a million. I apologize in advance,” she told Hort. He chuckled.

“It’s fine, really. Like mother, like daughter, huh?” Hort teased. “You’ve probably taken more photos of us in a _week_ than I have all _year_.”

 

Beatrix giggled, smacking him with her corsage.

 

“Alright, everybody!” her mom chirped excitedly, ushering them into position. “Say cheese!”

Several million photos later, they all exchanged goodbyes, much to Beatrix’s happiness. Not long after, they were both were sitting in Hort’s car and pulling out of the driveway.

“Sorry about the hold up,” Beatrix apologized.

 

“It’s no problem, really. I’m sure she took some good ones,” Hort assured happily.

 

“Yeah, that’s true. She’s pretty good at what she does.” Beatrix smirked. “Besides, I do like having photos of me being taller than you.”

 

Hort just rolled his eyes and laughed.

 

-

 

It wasn’t long before they spotted Ravan’s house, seeing as there were like ten cars parked by his driveway and the adjacent ones too. Beatrix wondered how many people had been invited to the party.

 

Hort knocked on the door, and to neither’s surprise, they were received by their host himself. Ravan had his hair in a bun and sported a black shirt under a red jacket, with his navy blue “Homecoming Court” sash hanging across his chest.

 

“Hey! Glad you guys could make it; come on in,” Ravan greeted, smiling at the pair. He hugged them on the way in, and the two guests made their way around the house, trying to find their other friends.

 

The turnout was bigger than Beatrix expected. Groups of students in suits and gowns hung around the beige-walled house, mostly swarming around the snack table in the kitchen. Others lounged in the living room, listening to music.

 

 In the back, there was a glass sliding door that lead out to the deck and a large pool. Some of the crowd mingled outside, including…

 

“Look!” Beatrix poked Hort’s shoulder, pulling him towards the deck. “There’s Tedros!” The boy was talking to Nicola, the conversation halting once he noticed his friends and waved them over.

 

“Well, if it isn’t our favorite couple,” Tedros grinned, looking surprisingly regal with his navy blue suit and black tie.

 

“Good to see you too, Tedros,” Hort smirked, while Beatrix laughed. Then he turned to Nicola.

 

“So where’s the rest of your girl gang? I thought you’d be hanging out with them instead.”

 

“Yeah, maybe it’s a _little_ weird for me to be on my own—but I’m in AP Chemistry with this guy.

 

I’ve grown kind of fond of him,” Nicola explained, elbowing Tedros playfully. “Anyway, Beatrix: you look really pretty! I love the dress.”

 

“Oh thanks! I wasn’t super sure about the color at first, but now I’m really happy with how it looks. And _you_ look gorgeous,” Beatrix said, admiring the other girl’s strapless yellow dress, “but what’s new there?”

 

“Thank you! I think my favorite part of the whole look is the fact that your heels make you taller than Hort.” Nicola snickered, as did the others.

 

“Alright,” Hort sighed, before chuckling. “Well, I’m gonna go find Rafal. You guys have fun.”

“If he doesn’t act right,” Nicola whispered loudly to Beatrix, “just tell me and I’ll give him a piece of my mind.” Beatrix and Tedros couldn’t help but laugh.

 

The three mingled for a while, chatting before Nicola had to go—and just as Rafal walked up to replace her.

“Where were you?” Tedros asked.

 

“Hort just went looking for you; did you see him?” wondered Beatrix.

 

“I was just with Ravan,” Rafal answered. “And no, sorry. I’m sure your date probably just ran into someone else he knew.”

 

“That’s so weird. ‘My date’…” Beatrix giggled. “It’s not _bad_ , it’s just… weird.” Tedros smiled

 

“It’s the truth, and not a bad one at that! You’re probably the center of envy of at _least_ three girls here,” Tedros said.

 

Beatrix snorted. “Please. I’m just a friend date. But last year, when he asked _NIcola_? Now _that_ was some serious envy—but me? Most people know that I’m just a friend… they shouldn’t be so upset,” she reasoned.

“No, I think Tedros is definitely onto something. Besides, just… revel in that while you look hot. It’s what I would do,” Rafal advised with a shrug.

 

“…You think I look hot?” Beatrix asked quietly, a smile creeping on her lips while Tedros just gawked.

 

“Well, yeah—and it’s also moral support,” Rafal said, grinning. “And what are _you_ looking at, Tedros?”

 

“I can’t believe you just used the word ‘hot’ in _that_ context. You do look great; don’t get me wrong, Bea. But what’s next, Rafal? Saying I look sexy?” Tedros laughed, and Beatrix joined in while Rafal sighed loudly.

 

“Well, I’m gonna get a drink before you two kill each other,” Beatrix said, squeezing past the two boys. “Be right back!”

 

Beatrix made a beeline for the food bowls, reaching for the chips. She’d been starving for the past hour, but she’d been too nervous to notice before. She kept snacking and grabbed a drink as she glanced around at everyone passing by.

 

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” said a voice, making Beatrix jump. She spun around, startled to see Agatha standing there in a pink satin dress.

 

“Oh… um, yeah! I was also not expecting to see you… at the snack table. Um.” Beatrix coughed awkwardly. “Not because you wouldn’t wanna eat or anything. I just figured you’d be busy having fun with your friends.”

 

Agatha just laughed warmly. “I was, but I needed a quick snack,” she admitted, grabbing a whole plateful of her own snacks. “We took _way_ too many pictures. A girl gets tired.”

 

“I haven’t gotten to that point yet, but it sounds nice.” Beatrix added.

 

“Yeah, I guess so. It’s fun to have memories…” Agatha chewed on her chips thoughtfully. “Oh hey! So I’ve been meaning to ask you: are you starting your book club next week? I saw the flyers get posted a few days ago.”

 

Beatrix knew the cheerleader had promised she’d join, but hearing her confirm it was _weird_. Weird in the good way. But still weird. And with all the fuss for the dance, Beatrix had fallen behind on her planning.

 

“Yeah! Yeah. It’ll be a bit later than I expected—like Thursday, maybe? But I’d like to start it next week,” Beatrix answered.

 

“Great!” Agatha exclaimed. “I got Dot to come with me, so I’m sure it’ll be fun!”

Beatrix felt encouraged by that. “I’m glad you’re coming. I’m just afraid no one else will,” she admitted sheepishly.

 

“ _Please_. I’m sure this club will take off,” Agatha assured. Then her eyes darted around like she was looking for someone. “Now, I don’t mean to be nosy—but where’s that date of yours? I thought he’d be like, showing you off all night.”

 

Beatrix laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed. “He said he was getting a drink, but I’m sure he just got distracted…” She paused, curiosity burning inside her at Agatha’s last remark. “Why do you think he’d want to show me off?”

 

“Well… after he asked you, he immediately texted me asking for Anadil’s number so he could get your corsage and the uh, boutonnière. And _before_ that he asked me if I had ideas for his sign. I wasn’t much help, sadly.” Agatha tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, leaning in and lowering her voice. “And don’t tell Nicola I said this… but he looked more excited to ask you than he did last year with Nic. And they were dating by then.”

 

Beatrix’s eyes were wide with surprise, her face burning hot as coals. She nodded dumbly, figuring out a reply.

 

“Wow. That’s… so sweet. Like really, _really_ sweet.” Beatrix was unable to hold back nervous giggles, before they trailed off. If that was the case, where was Hort?

 

“Yeah, he’s just being a social idiot,” Agatha remarked, seemingly reading her mind. “I mean, you look _amazing_. If I was him, I’d be so proud telling _everyone_ I was your date.” 

 

First, Hort asked her to the dance. Now, Agatha Sader complimented her. It warmed Beatrix’s heart so much she was glowing from it all. This week felt straight out of a storybook.

 

“Oh please, you’re the one that’s out here turning heads!” Beatrix beamed brightly. “Especially Tedros’—” She covered her mouth quickly, her cheeks vivid crimson.

 

Either Agatha didn’t notice, or just ignored the implication; she just brushed it off with a laugh.

 

“Is he here?” she asked. “I didn’t know—but I guess if _three_ of you are here, he should be too.”

 

“Yeah, he and Rafal are out by the pool,” Beatrix said bashfully.

 

“I’ll go say hi to them, are you coming with or…?”

 

Beatrix figured it wouldn’t hurt to follow her, but she shook her head. She watched the girl approach her friends, chuckling when she saw Tedros stammer at the sight of his crush. Poor thing was hopeless.

 

Now on her own, with Agatha’s words bouncing around in her head, Beatrix figured she’d find Hort. She wanted to talk to him, really. Beatrix navigated the crowd, wondering where he’d be. With Ravan, maybe? Didn’t seem so. What other friends did Hort have…? Far too many for Beatrix to remember.

 

“I think you two are just being _way_ too unfair.”

 

Beatrix perked up at Hort’s voice, even if his words and tone were a bit… concerning. She peeked around a wall, spotting her date being cornered next to a couch by Hester and Anadil. Beatrix crept towards them, noticing Hort’s frown.

 

“Think about it: you could have practically _any_ girl fall into your arms and you ask out Beatrix Jolie, a girl _nobody_ knows,” she heard Hester say, judgement dripping from the statement. “Until now, at least. It _really_ makes you wonder _why_ …”

 

Beatrix’s heart stopped at the mention of her name. She leaned against the wall, attempting to act casual while she craned her neck to catch a glimpse of Hort’s reaction.

 

Her date just snorted. “I told you, she’s my best friend. Can’t I just ask her out for the fun of it?”

 

“That doesn’t help clear the rumors that you’ll _dump_ her on the dance floor,” Anadil snipped. Beatrix flushed with worry. People were _talking_ about—

 

“So? They’re not real,” Hort sighed, annoyed. “Look, Beatrix is the sweetest girl I know. I swear, I’d _never_ do anything to hurt her. I just wanna make sure she has the best Homecoming dance tonight, okay?”

 

Beatrix couldn’t help but smile at that; Hort didn’t even have to do this for her, but he did anyway. Emboldened by his words, she smoothed her dress down and approached the trio.

 

“There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” she chirped, looping her arm around Hort’s. “Okay, I know we already _have_ a lot of pictures, but I was wondering if you were okay with getting some more with the guys as well?”

 

“Yeah! For sure!” Hort told her, then turned to the others. “Sorry ladies, my date needs me. I’m sure you understand.”

 

The two girls eyed him down, Hester especially looking like she had a _whole_ lot more to rant about. But she settled for pointing two perfectly manicured fingers at her eyes, then jabbing them at Hort before the girlfriends sashayed off into the crowd.

 

Beatrix giggled, pulling Hort along after her.

 

“Sorry for getting sidetracked—but thanks for getting me out. I ran into Hester and Anadil and we… kind of ended up clashing,” Hort told.

 

“Really?” Beatrix asked, feigning ignorance. He didn’t reply, but that was fine. She didn’t want to push it if he was uncomfortable.

 

Luckily, Rafal and Tedros were still out in the deck with Agatha. She happily volunteered as photographer, even joining in at some point. The gang made sure she was always squeezed in next to a _very_ flustered Tedros.

 

“Hey Hort, do you want some with Beatrix? Like, just the two of you?” Agatha asked.

Beatrix was sure he’d say no to that; he probably was tired. But he didn’t. He accepted. Beatrix blinked in surprise but shook it off as Agatha snapped the photos of them by the pool.

“I know this is random,” Hort began, “but I’ve always wanted to do this and you’re usually down to doing dumb shit with me…”

 

“What is it?” Beatrix asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“Can I… bridal carry you?” Hort offered sheepishly. “God, that was awkward to say… But I’ve always wanted to get a picture like that. If it’s okay with you.”

 

“Are you strong enough to lift me up, though?” teased Beatrix—then immediately started laughing as Hort lifted her up near effortlessly.

 

Agatha snorted as she snapped more shots, joined in by Tedros and Rafal, who stood by and watched. A few other people simply looked over in their direction but didn’t say much.

 

“Okay, are you _sure_ you two aren’t a thing? Like, are you _really_ sure?” asked Agatha.

The couple rolled their eyes.

 

“Definitely,” they both replied.

 

Eventually, people started leaving for the dance. Beatrix and her friends left early to avoid the traffic and the crowds at school. Even though the party had been fun, she was even more excited to go to the actual dance.

 

Part of her wanted to ask Hort about everything she’d heard from Hester and Anadil on their way. She decided against it. Maybe later.

 

Instead, she snickered at all the silly pictures they’d taken, almost bouncing in her seat as they finally pulled up to the school, and nearly ran up the gym steps. She gripped Hort’s hand tightly, beaming at him as the doors opened.

 

Even if the music playing was so loud she couldn’t hear her own thoughts, it couldn’t disrupt the fairytale aesthetic. It wasn’t long before Beatrix was dancing, even if she felt as awkward as always. The evening progressed wonderfully: Anadil and Ravan were looking marvelous as always as the Homecoming Court; the DJ played song after song that had the crowd on their feet and in high spirits.

 

As the night went on, the energy dipped, more people tired out from dancing. Slow tunes played from the speakers, reflecting the students, who mostly mingled around at the tables that had been set up next to the dance floor.

 

Beatrix and her friends followed suit. After all, none of them really felt like dancing—or had anyone they would ask. Rafal was on his phone, showing Tedros some post that made the two of them laugh. Beatrix was considering doing the same—

 

“May I have this dance, milady?” Hort asked as he stood up, extending his hand and bowing low like a prince. Then he looked up and laughed, straightening up—but he still kept his hand out.

Beatrix raised her eyebrows in surprise. “But… wouldn’t that be awkward for you? I mean, I wouldn’t _mind_ , but…”

 

Hort shrugged and smiled. “It’s fine if you don’t want to… I hope I didn’t make everything weird.”

“You didn’t,” Beatrix replied, giving him a gracious smile. She placed her hand in his, gliding to the dance floor after her date.

 

Something about that moment made her heart swell with an emotion she couldn’t pinpoint or describe. Beatrix didn’t understand why.

 

It was _Hort_ , for crying out loud.

 

They’d known each other since sixth grade. They’d gone through every embarrassing moment, every awkward crush and every painful memory. She knew him _too_ well to feel like this.

 

But as the last song died down and a new one began, his arms around her waist, her arms wrapped around his neck, she thought to herself…

 

Maybe the feeling wasn’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> basically, this was my favorite chapter to write so far.
> 
> It was very dear to me because I just had my last homecoming dance last saturday, so it's kinda close to me. I hope you guys liked it! Lemme know in the comments (especially if I've succeeded in turning some of you into hortrix shippers lmao)


	12. XII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, sorry for taking so long on this one! Aris couldn-t actually edit this one aka I asked if i could post without it, cause i didnt wanna wait as long to post so hopefully you like this one

XII

 

_Beatrix_

         

If Beatrix had to use only one word to describe Saturday night, she’d say it was a weird one.

 

She’d have fun, but it had left her with mixed, lingering feelings about Hort, and she didn’t like that.

 

It was like playing with fire, but she’d find herself thinking about him at the oddest moments. Thinking about the two of them slow dancing, as if there was no one else in that room. Beatrix would shake off those thoughts, but it was hard to do so when she was around him.

 

Suddenly, those malicious rumors about her liking him seemed too real to handle.

 

Luckily for her, she had one thing keeping her relatively sane: planning for her book club. She’d made sure she had everything, even if there wasn’t too much to arrange. She’d try to mentally go over what she’d say, but she would always end up forgetting, and she’d always start over, much to her annoyance.

 

Books were fun, but talking in front of possible strangers wasn’t as fun.

 

Come Thursday, as she’d promised, it was the day she set on to meet with her club; she’d decided it’d be a short session after school, since it was only the first meeting and she didn’t have much to talk about.

 

Beatrix couldn’t help but bring it up during lunch. In fact, she wished she could stop; she didn’t want to annoy her friends with her silly worries.

 

“Thursday should be fine. I mean, no major club meets today, and there’s not even a game today or anything,” Beatrix said.

 

“Bea, you’ll be fine; I have the utmost faith in you, and if that wasn’t enough, Rafal helped you out. Besides, I’m sure the flyers helped. I _did_ make them,” Hort added teasingly. Beatrix smiled, but she rolled her eyes.

 

She decided to ignore the sudden rise of heat to her face.

 

Book club first, then she could worry about that little issue.

 

“Very modest, Hort,” Rafal snorted, but Hort simply grinned at him.

 

At least she had some support.

 

When the bell rang, dismissing school for the day, Beatrix paced towards Mr. Sader’s room. She knew she still had time before people got there, but she decided it was best to be on time, if not a bit early.

 

Mr. Sader simply asked her a few questions, including if there was something he needed to do, but Beatrix said he didn’t, so the teacher simply sat back on his desk and only intervened if needed.

 

A few minutes later, more people did show up. Beatrix could count eight people, including herself and Rafal, who’d also shown up earlier. It wasn’t bad at all. She spotted Kei, known for always doing yearbook stuff; Flavia, a sophomore cheerleader; Reena, who excitedly said hi to Beatrix; and Chaddick, whom was also from her grade.

 

She checked the time on her phone, and she decided she probably should start. There goes nothing.

 

 

“Alright guys, I think we’re ready to start things up! I’ll just say that um, I don’t deal super well with speaking in front of people, so just…give me a chance. I know what to do I just…struggle with the delivery,” Beatrix laughed nervously. People simply looked at her, some blankly, some smilingly.

 

She kept it as simple as she could; just an overview of her goals, and how she’d try choosing books that were better than those assigned at school, but this last statement earned her a question. Standing in front of them felt weird, but it was still way better than she’d expected.

 

“Okay wait a second, so what kind of books are we reading? Like, are we doing a specific genre?” Dot asked from her seat.

 

“Well….ideally speaking, I’d like to read some more stuff aimed at teens, because those are usually lighter and widely accepted by people, but the first book I chose for today was _Anne of Green Gables_ , so that will vary from week to week. I also consider availability, because more modern stuff is harder to get,” Beatrix explained. Dot nodded.

 

“I just wanted to know if we would read like, super heavy classics; I struggle with those,” Dot admitted. Beatrix laughed.

 

“Gosh, no! I like some of those, but seeing as school gives us so much to read already, I’ll stick to lighter books…unless a big majority would like that; I’m pretty flexible!” Beatrix said.

 

“I like the lighter books; they’re quick reads,” Chaddick offered. He got some nods in agreement.

 

“Okay, Great! So _Anne of Green Gables_ should be acceptable,” Beatrix said, taking up her copy and showing it, “as you can see, it’s not long…does everyone know what this is about or do I have to explain?” Beatrix asked, earning some “no’s”, so she quickly explained.

 

Well, as quickly as she could while she got sidetracked with how much she loved certain aspects of it. The people didn’t seem against the idea, which only calmed down Beatrix.

 

 

“This is not really related to the club itself but, well, basically, I have to do a spread on clubs and I’m running low on pictures, do you mind if I take some?” Kei asked. Beatrix giggled.

 

“Sure! If you think you can still be part of the discussion while you do that, I don’t see why not; just make sure you get the photogenic people and not me,” Beatrix joked. Kei rolled his eyes but chuckled.

 

“Thanks! Don’t worry, I always try and show people before I use them,” Kei answered.

 

“Still…anyway, yeah you can do that; I’ll get snacks to make it look more fun; it _could_ end in the yearbook, after all…off topic, sorry. Any other questions? Anything?” Beatrix asked.

 

She received more silence in response.

 

“Well then! I think that’s all I got for you guys. If you want to tell anyone about this or just bring them, they’re always welcome, and if you have any questions, just like, find me during lunch or something. I’ll see you all in two weeks!” Beatrix said.

 

Beatrix simply waved goodbye at everyone as they left, feeling greatly relived and accomplished. Once they all left, the blonde excitedly turned to Rafal and squealed.

 

“That went so much better than I expected!” Beatrix exclaimed. Rafal chuckled.

 

“I told you it’d be alright; see Bea? Sometimes you just need to have faith,” Rafal teased

 

“Wait, am I hearing correctly? Did you have doubts about this? Beatrix, even I knew it’d be fine, and I don’t even know you that well,” Agatha called from her seat. Beatrix simply shrugged and awkwardly played with her hair.

 

“We all said that,” Rafal chuckled, earning a glare from Beatrix.

 

“Seems like they were silly doubts…but hey, do you think they’d have a copy of it in the school library? It’d be easier to get it, especially with the amount of time I spend there nowadays,” Agatha told Beatrix. The latter couldn’t help but laugh at that last part.

 

“I don’t see why not; it is like a classic, so they’ll probably have it. ,” Beatrix replied, but then added, “but thanks so much for coming! It means a lot to me,”

 

“Well, I told you I’d come! Besides, I always end my day in this classroom, anyway,” Agatha giggled.

 

“Oh! That’s right! I always forget you two are related…” Beatrix admitted sheepishly.

 

“I don’t know how, really; the resemblance is uncanny,” Agatha joked, and Beatrix laughed.

 

Beatrix had always liked Agatha, and it seemed like this was the perfect way to get to know her better and maybe befriend her. Even if it might look like an unlikely friendship, Beatrix wouldn’t be against it.

 

 

Feeling a bit better about herself after that club meeting, Beatrix decided to reward herself by getting something from the vending machine by the library. She happily made her way there, but as she peeked into the library, she noticed Tedros was sitting there.

 

Beatrix decided to drop by and say hi to him. After all, it couldn’t hurt. She opened the doors to the library and put down her stuff by his. The boy flinched at the noise, but quickly smiled at her and said hi.

 

“Hey, how come you’re still here?” Beatrix asked him. Tedros sighed.

 

“My dad will be running late today, and I have a chem test tomorrow…so I decided to spend this time studying,” Tedros answered quietly. Beatrix cringed.

 

“Yikes…I don’t remember any chemistry, but that diagram looks terrifying,” Beatrix said. Tedros chuckled.

 

“It’s…tricky. I like it, but it’s not as simple as I would like…but what about you? How come you’re here?” Tedros asked.

 

“I just came from my book club! Then I decided to get Skittles by the vending machine and saw you,” Beatrix replied. Tedros nodded.

 

“How was that? I would’ve gone but…duty calls,” Tedros said, pointing to his textbook. Beatrix giggled.

 

“It’s all good! I think it went better than expected; there was like, six people besides Rafal and I. The girl of your dreams was there too, by the way,” Beatrix said, winking at him. Tedros rolled his eyes.

 

“Could you not call her that? But good for her for joining; she did mention she wanted to join.” Tedros replied. Beatrix raised her eyebrows.

 

“Yesterday? You didn’t tell me you had seen her.” Beatrix teased. Tedros sighed.

 

“It’s just tutoring. She says her grade has gone up like a whole letter grade now, but she’s afraid she’ll do worse if she doesn’t study with me.” Tedros simply told.

 

“I mean, acceleration is not being too hard right now, but I can’t blame her. Science is tough. She did ask me about you on Saturday, though.” Beatrix said. Tedros raised his eyebrows.

 

“Did she?” He asked. Beatrix nodded, “Wait, was that before she came over to talk to Rafal and I? I thought she’d just gone ‘cause of Rafal.”

 

“I don’t know; she asked me where were you, and then she went over to talk to you two,” Beatrix said, “Maybe she wanted to see you.”

 

“I mean, maybe.We just…talked about the dance and stuff like that…” Tedros said, shrugging.

 

“Does she still make you as nervous?” Beatrix asked him, simply curious to know. Tedros hesitated for a few seconds.

 

“Maybe…not as much as before, but I still get nervous…I like tutoring her, though; she gets sidetracked and she’ll just talk to me about her stuff, which is not the best for reviewing, but is also cool getting to know her.” Tedros admitted. Beatrix couldn’t help but smile.

 

“That’s nice…I guess if this works out for you, then Rafal will definitely want credit for setting it up.” Beatrix joked. Tedros rolled his eyes.

 

“He would…but, what if Agatha and I actually…never work out? What if I ask her out and she says no? I’m not entitled to her, or anyone, really,” Tedros said. Beatrix looked away, not really knowing what to say.

 

She guessed that was a possible scenario, even if she’d never even given it a thought. Beatrix simply wanted Tedros to ask out Agatha already.

 

“Well…then I guess you’d just have to get over her…but, at least you wouldn’t have the uncertainty of whether she likes you or not.” Beatrix offered weakly. Tedros nodded, as if considering it.

 

“Yeah, I guess that’s true…you know, I also need to take that into consideration.” Tedros said. Beatrix nodded.

 

“Hey, I think you should at least try asking her out; you can’t lose anything by doing it.” Beatrix advised.

 

“I do want to some day…not yet, though. It’d be a bit weird to just pop that question while talking to her about acceleration.” Tedros joked. Beatrix smiled.

 

“Probably, but what do I know? This is not my area of expertise,” Beatrix laughed.

 

“Eh, is okay; I’ll get there when I get there. Maybe I’ll just ask Hort what to do.” Tedros chuckled. Beatrix grinned.

 

“Beats me how he’s so good with girls; he’s an absolute idiot.” Beatrix chuckled to herself.

 

“I don’t know, man; if he treats every girl he likes like he treated you on Saturday, I can see why he scores.” Tedros said, shrugging. Beatrix raised her eyebrows.

 

“What do you mean?” Beatrix asked, clearly confused. Tedros wasn’t one to assume anything of her and Hort’s relationship, after all, he was both’s friend, but currently, the blonde boy rolled his eyes.

 

“Come on, Bea; don’t you think he put in too much effort for a friend date? Fine, I’ll admit it, I totally gave him the green light for the sign, but he literally asked you to _slow dance_. I don’t know too many friends that do that,” Tedros explained, earning a sigh from Beatrix.

 

She had had the same thought process, but she hoped people wouldn’t notice. Unfortunately, that was only wistful thinking. She’d been wishing to stray away from this topic, but Hort seemed like an unavoidable subject.

 

“Look, I’ve thought about that too, and…,” Beatrix trailed off, but Tedros leaned into her, eyes widened, obviously wanting to know what was up.

 

Beatrix looked away from his gaze; she couldn’t believe what she was about to say.

“The thing is that, ever since Saturday, it hasn’t felt the same…I keep thinking too much about him, and well…” Beatrix trailed off.

 

“Well?” Tedros asked, burning with curiosity.

 

“I feel like…I might be starting to crush on him, and I know that’s _insane,_ but I also feel like I’ve felt like this for a while now; Saturday was just the inciting incident for this disaster,” She confessed, leaning back into her seat.

 

Tedros looked at her with wide blue eyes; she couldn’t judge him. She knew she sounded crazy.

 

“Oh, Bea…normally I’d be all supportive and stuff, but _this_ …this is different…” Tedros admitted, his gaze softening.

 

“Don’t you think I know? It’s only been what, four days? And I am _mortified_. It’s not too likely it’ll go away, either, because I see Hort every day, so I’m just _screwed.”_ Beatrix moaned. Tedros gently put his hand on her shoulder.

 

“Hey, I know how you feel…crushes are very much valid, even if they’re a crush on Hort.” Tedros joked, earning a laugh from Beatrix.

 

“I know, but, hypothetically speaking, let’s say he reciprocates this mess, and he, very boldly, decides to pursue it, and I follow…what happens then? You see what I mean? I can’t dilly dally here! I need to not even think about him like _that_ ,” Beatrix said. Tedros frowned.

 

“Don’t you think you’re getting ahead of yourself?” Tedros questioned.

 

“Well, yes, but you know I overthink a lot…it’s still a valid point, though.” Beatrix argued.

 

“Okay well, yes, but there’s still a lot that would have to happen for that…besides, I think he is either in denial or he’s too oblivious to realize; if it’s the latter, maybe he won’t ever realize it and you won’t have this conflict,” Tedros offered. Beatrix nodded, considering it.

 

“I hope that happens; it’s better to not tap into some things, and I definitely wouldn’t want to mess up our dynamic.” Beatrix told Tedros.

 

“Right, right, but still, it can’t be impossible…right?” Tedros argued.

 

“The thing is that we’re definitely inseparable, so I don’t know…I don’t want to make things weird, but seeing him does make me feel a bit odd…and I can’t just stop seeing him that much because that will definitely ring the alarms,” Beatrix explained.

 

“I understand…oh, Bea, I don’t know what to tell you: telling him would be so uncomfortable, but also, getting over him will be really hard if you don’t say anything, because rejection probably helps getting over people. Not that he’d reject you for other than the fact you’re best friends! I mean, you’re like the whole package in a girl—,” Tedros rambled but Beatrix laughed and interrupted him

 

“I get it, Teddy…but please, don’t tell _anyone_. Not even Rafal.” Beatrix pleaded. Tedros put his hand on top of her, taking her by surprise.

 

“Hey, I won’t. I promise…I just hope you find a way to, you know…feel better,” Tedros said softly. Beatrix nodded.

 

“Yeah…I guess I’ll have to stop reading YA books for a few days; the romance in those will only worsen everything,” Beatrix joked. Tedros chuckled.

 

“You should read those really bizarre books, uh…man, you read them before, with all the blonde kids and the crazy mom…do you know what I’m talking about?” Tedros asked, struggling to remember.

 

“Oh! _Flowers in the Attic!_ Those are so messed up! It’s like a soap opera gone wrong. Yeah that’s definitely a good one to feel better about your life.” Beatrix laughed.

 

“Glad I can be useful,” Tedros grinned. Beatrix smiled in return.

 

“Thanks, Tedros. It means a lot…I should _really_ let you study anyway. My mom should be here soon, but I’ll stay here quietly reading,” Beatrix giggled, starting to dig through her bag trying to find her school book.

 

“Yeah., it was a good talk, don’t get me wrong! But if I don’t study I’ll fail and my grade is so close to where I want it to be that I can’t risk it,” Tedros rambled.

 

“No, no I get it! Ugh, it must suck having to take a test and have to present Dovey’s project on the same day.” Beatrix said.

 

Even though her group had gotten along fairly well, they still had to maneuver through a lot of obstacles.

 

“Oh you’re right…ours is alright…eh, my English grade can take that hit.” Tedros shrugged, going back to his textbook.

 

Beatrix simply took leaned back in her chair and pulled out her book, trying to read, but not being able to concentrate on the words.

 

For the first time in a long time, not even reading could whisk her away from her invasive thoughts.


	13. XII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, sorry for taking so long on this one! It took forever but it was worth it!

_ XIII _

_ Tedros _

 

If there was one thing Tedros learned that day, it was that studying chemistry was already hard enough  _ without _ his thoughts drifting to his talk with Beatrix.

Tedros never liked butting his head into other people’s problems, but this one felt… different. Hort was one of his closest friends, and so was Beatrix. It was a difficult situation — Tedros felt kind of bad he couldn’t do much other than listen. He didn’t have any help to offer. If he said the wrong thing, all of their friendships could go south. He wasn’t some kind of sage advisor: he was just a guy who could barely deal with his  _ own _ crush …

Tedros sighed, shaking his head absently as he closed his book. He needed a distraction. Something to clear his mind.

He reached for his phone, scrolling through his unread messages idly. They were mostly from Hort spamming the groupchat with dumb videos and silly posts for them to laugh at. Tedros snickered at them, then moved on—

Then he noticed a single message from someone  _ else _ . Someone that never failed to make his heart skip a beat.

_ ‘Hi!’ _ said Agatha.

Tedros froze, blushing as his thumbs hovered over the keyboard.

_ ‘Hi’  _ he replied.

Agatha Sader just texted him. Okay. Alright. It felt… kind of thrilling that she messaged him first —not that  _ he _ usually did: everytime he tried he felt too awkward. And sure, it wasn’t like she was going to suddenly ask him out, but… he could still feel nice about it.

Almost immediately, her next message appeared.

_ ‘I know this is super super last minute but could we meet tomorrow after school???’ _

Tedros blinked. Wait, was she really —

_ ‘I just realized i have NO idea what is going on and the quiz is on monday AHH!!! Im sorry this is so last minute!!’ _

Oh. Right, yeah. Tedros ignored his drumming heart —of course she just wanted help studying; he was just overthinking it.

_ ‘Yeah no prob! I’m free tomorrow anyway’ _

Then he sat back, switching back and forth from his textbook and his phone every five seconds until his screen lit up again.

_ ‘Omg thank u!! Youre the best!!!’ _

Tedros smiled wide at the compliment, more than happy she wasn’t there to see his face turn scarlet.

_ ‘I’ll see you then’ _

_ ‘Same here!! <3’ _

 

-

 

The next day passed by quickly, to Tedros’ relief. It was, admittedly, embarrassing, but he almost couldn’t wait to see Agatha. It wasn’t just because he had a crush on her —although that helped a lot— but because she was just so positive and upbeat and outgoing… almost his opposite. Spending time with her just… made his day all the better.

After classes were over, he waited for her at their usual spot in the library, scrolling through his phone, trying to pass time. When he heard the doors open, he looked up, spotting Agatha, who waved and flashed him a heart-melting smile.

“Hi! Thanks  _ so _ much for coming. I hadn’t realized the test was so soon…,” Agatha explained, pulling out the chair next to Tedros and taking a seat. “I thought it’d be best if I just got the hang of it today; do all the heavy lifting on my own during the weekend?”

“Oh yeah, no problem. I didn’t have too much planned, anyway,” Tedros said nonchalantly.

Agatha took out her homework quickly, and the tutoring session went as it usually did. Agatha asked all the questions she had, Tedros answered them as best as he could, then they went over the problems in her textbook. The only deviation from their regular routine was Agatha whipping her phone out to check the time, frowning slightly, then turning her attention back to Tedros.

“Is there something wrong?” Tedros asked worriedly, after the fifth time. “Do you need to be somewhere soon or —?”

“Oh, no, no! I’m fine!” she reassured. “It’s just that, well…” She glanced away, almost embarrassed to confess. “I actually didn’t have lunch today, because I was working on a project for art history class — so I’m kinda starving right now.”

Tedros opened his mouth, startled —

Agatha stopped him, smiling sheepishly. “ I didn’t want to feel like I made you come here for nothing,” she explained, fiddling with her fingers.

“W-well,” Tedros blurted, nervous himself. Oh, Agatha. “Do you have any more questions?” he asked.

She shook her head wordlessly.

“Then we can be done. Go get something to eat,” he urged, feeling bad for keeping her there. “Please?”

“You could come with me,” Agatha proposed. “That way I’d feel less guilty.”

Tedros raised his eyebrows, taken aback by the sudden request. But also, slightly flattered.

“I mean, you don’t have to…” he said.

“But I  _ want _ to. Come on, you help me all the time,” she coaxed. “You said you didn’t have anything on today, right? I don’t really want to go out on my own.”

Tedros didn’t want to say no. This was his chance to hang out with her —those didn’t come along too often for him. And she  _ wanted _ him with her.

“Well… I can’t really find a reason why I shouldn’t,” he conceded.

“Yay!” Agatha beamed at him. Tedros found himself grinning back. “If you wanna get anything, it’s on me.”

“Oh, you don’t have to; I’m not even hungry. Besides, I’ve got money um…  _ somewhere _ on me.” Tedros didn’t think Agatha was all that convinced, even when he added a short foray into his bag to bolster his statement. He coughed, glancing away when he found nothing.

“It’s my treat, Teddy,” Agatha laughed. “Let me be nice to you, okay?”

Tedros reddened, his brain turning to mush at the nickname. And God, her laugh was amazing. “I’ll uh — I’m just gonna…,” he stammered, trying to remember how sentences worked. “I… I’ll text my dad first. Then um, then we can go.”

Agatha nodded, collecting her books into her backpack. She was just about done when Tedros realized he’d been staring at her and not actually doing what he said he would. He hadn’t even taken his phone out of his pocket. Panicking slightly, he whipped it out and sent a quick message —and when he looked up he found Agatha’s warm brown eyes watching him.

“I texted my dad,” he said dumbly. He stood up. “I uh… guess we can go now.”

“Okay then,” Agatha giggled, making her way out of the library.

Tedros followed closely after her, his heart aflutter and his cheeks aflame.

 

-

 

Like most other small towns, Gavaldon didn’t particularly stand out amongst the other hamlets like it —maybe not if you counted the cobblestone streets or the storybook-like houses that lined them. And like most small towns, places were easy to find, and easy to walk to.

Less than ten minutes after they’d left the school, Tedros and Agatha found themselves at Papa Pipp’s: a caf é/bakery/deli (Tedros was never sure what to call it) as quaint as the town it resided in. Nearly every student that stayed back for clubs or other events went there to get something to eat. Tedros himself had, a few times with his friends.

“So what do you want?” Agatha asked, as they stood in line. She pulled out her purse, counting her money. “The nut crumble here is  _ delicious. _ I’m like, addicted; you should totally try it.”

Tedros shook his head. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”

“Are you  _ sure? _ I wouldn’t want to drag you out here and  _ not _ have you get anything. Besides, you’ve a  _ lot _ for me. Take this as a sort of uh, thanks.”

“I’ll just get water,” Tedros conceded, “but I’ll pay you back — ”

Agatha waved him off breezily. “I told you, it’s all on me. Just pick whatever you want: I know you want  _ something, _ right?”

Tedros sighed. “Maybe a sandwich, too?”

Agatha grinned. “Coming right up!”

After they got their food and found seats, they sat in silence, chewing on their snacks. It felt kind of awkward to Tedros, especially when he finished his sandwich before she was halfway done eating —maybe he should break some ice.

“So do you… come here… often?” he wondered.

“Oh! Yeah, all the time,” said Agatha, wiping the crumbs off her mouth. “Cheer practice runs kinda late sometimes and I get hungry. Like, a quarter of my money goes here. It’s probably really bad management, but… the food here is  _ way _ too good to pass up.  _ Especially _ the nut crumble.”

She smiled at him, an eyebrow raised expectantly.

Tedros fumbled for a response. What did she want? Was she waiting for him to agree with her? She said she liked the food, so —

“Um,” he said eloquently. “It sure is… crumbly?”

Agatha snorted, hiding it behind her hand. “Do you want to try it?”

“Oh!” Yeah, he should’ve figured. “Oh, um… If you’re okay with that.”

“Here,” she said gently, scooping up a spoonful of her treat and cupping her free hand under to catch any crumbs that fell.

“Oh,” Tedros said again, trying to stop his cheeks from becoming painfully, visibly red. He probably failed.

‘ _ This isn’t a date,’ _ he reminded himself, leaning forward.  _ ‘This is definitely not a date.’ _

“Good, right?” Agatha beamed.

Tedros nodded, thankful she didn’t seem to notice his reaction. And he really needed something else to think about.

“So… how long does practice run? Until 5 or something?” Tedros asked.

Agatha shook her head and shrugged. “That’s if we’re lucky. Since the football team has been doing so well, practice goes until like, 6. It’s because they want everything to be perfect at the games.”

“Oh, well — that sucks. I guess you must  _ really _ like cheer if you stay that long,” Tedros said, chuckling nervously. “Especially since you’re on the School Council, now, right?”

“Yeah… But I’ve got something to confess,” Agatha admitted with a grin. “You see, my aunt doesn’t like me skipping practice for tutoring,  _ but _ she’s also a teacher so she gets that my grades are more important…”

She trailed off, glancing at a clock on the wall. “So I gotta say thanks for getting me out at least  _ one _ day,” she finished, giving him a wink.

“Wait a minute —were you just using me to get out of practice this  _ whole  _ time ?” Tedros teased.

“Would you be mad if I said yes?” Agatha laughed, waving both her hands frantically. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding. I  _ swear _ I actually need help, but… you can’t blame me for liking the side benefits. Like getting to hang out with you!”

Tedros blinked. “You like hanging out with me?” he asked, incredulous.

Agatha nodded rapidly. “Yeah! I’ve always thought you were cool, but you always seemed to avoid me…” she confessed, poking at her crumble. “Until now, anyway.”

“Oh no!” he blurted. “No no no — I never meant to avoid you, I just- it’s just that... you’re so  _ cool _ and popular and… I was just worried that if I tried to talk to you I’d end up embarrassing myself and then you’d think I was weird or something.” Tedros chuckled nervously. “I’m rambling; I’m sorry. I just… Wow, I feel bad —”

“Please don’t! I didn’t really know all that so it’s fine. I even asked Rafal once if you even  _ liked _ me cause it didn’t look like you did, and he was your friend — but he got really weird about it… I don’t know why,” Agatha mused.

Tedros could only imagine that his friend being stupid enough to think of the  _ other _ meaning of ‘like’. He made a note to give Rafal crap for that.

“Eh, you know how weird he can be sometimes,” Tedros simply said, making Agatha laugh.

“I’m glad we had this talk. It’s nice to know you never disliked me or anything.” She reached out across the table, placing her hand on top of his. He almost jumped, trying to ignore his beating heart.

“Me too. And if you ever want to skip practice again, I could tag along with you…,” Tedros proposed shyly.

Agatha raised her eyebrows, but she couldn’t help smiling. “That’d be great.”

And he smiled back stupidly at her, feeling like this was the best moment of his week. Maybe even his month. Maybe even his  _ life. _

God, he was a lovesick fool, wasn’t he?

 

 


End file.
